134 years of successful operation of FDS

Sarajevo Tobacco Factory was founded on August 2, 1880, and is one of the first four industrial companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, writes the BiH news agency Patria (NAP).

For a full 80 years, the Factory was located at Marijin Dvor, and it got its final appearance in 1891, when the last of the 10 buildings, which the Factory had until the mid-1950s, was built.

The first FDS products were packs of cut tobacco, which were initially produced manually, in so-called mortars. The tobacco used for this purpose was of various types. The packaging of cut tobacco was also diverse. Already in the Austro-Hungarian period, this product of the Sarajevo Tobacco Factory was exported.

Cigarette production began at the end of 1882, and until 1905, they were made by hand when the first machine for automatic cigarette production was acquired.

During World War II, FDS did not cease operations, but its work was dictated by the occupiers.

Finally, in 1960, with expansion and modernization, FDS moved to the factory complex in Pofalići, where it has remained to this day. Newly constructed machines, whose conceptual creators and final implementers were people from the Factory, were sold not only at FDS but also to other companies throughout the then Yugoslavia. Thus, the Glibo I, Glibo II, III, and IV machines were created, and finally Glibo V. They were named after the inventor - worker Šaćir Glibo, who designed a machine that packed 22,500 cigarettes per hour compared to the 12,000 cigarettes packed by the previously used machine.

From 1970 to 1992, when the aggression against BiH began, FDS produced "Marlboro" cigarettes. The most difficult period for the Factory was the war years from 1992 to 1995. Although heavily damaged due to hostilities, Sarajevo Tobacco Factory did not cease operations even then, with production taking place in the basement premises. One of FDS's most famous products is the Sarajevo Drina, and during the war, it was literally a necessity, a relief, and a means of payment for basic necessities.

From 1996 to 2012, over 100 million KM were invested in reconstruction and modernization, and top-quality tobaccos from all over the world are processed in FDS facilities into 16 types of cigarettes, known and recognized in BiH, as well as in Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Macedonia.

Today, FDS is not only a successful company but also an important factor in social life in BiH. Through the Socially Responsible Business Strategy, support has been shown to sports teams, associations, the local community, employees, FDS Foundation scholarship holders, and projects of social importance such as environmental protection and public health.