TCC celebrating 60 glorious years

Commemorating a histor­ical landmark year, Tanza­nia Cigarette Public Limit­ed Company (TCC Plc) was inaugurated as East African Tobacco by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere on December 4, 1961, just five days before Tanganyika attained inde­pendence from Great Brit­ain.

With their shared begin­nings in this momentous period, the fortunes of both the company and the nation have remained intertwined over the past 60 years.

The chronological journey showcases the enormous success & many milestones accomplished along the way. No easy feat to have set up in the new Independence era, TCC’s journey is distin­guished by a unique level of focus and ambition that ensured its survival even in the most difficult of times.

When the Arusha Decla­ration came in 1967, govern­ment acquired 60 percent of the company. In 1975, the government acquired the remaining 40 percent stake and Tanzania Cigarette Company was born as a ful­ly state-owned institution.

In 1995, as part of govern­ment’s policy to disengage from business TCC, along with most other companies, was privatized.

In 1999, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) bought 51% stake from TCC and in 2000 TCC was listed in the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange and JTI increased its stake to 75%. Since then, the value of TCC’s shares has continued to grow to become the highest in the Dar es Salaam stock market. It is clear that TCC has been one of the country’s success stories of privatization.

TCC’s history is an amal­gamation of the past and present corresponding the magnificent history of the nation with a promising eye on the future. With a strong vision, TCC laid the foun­dation stone for the future and in no time became mar­ket leaders having carved a niche in the industry.

Over the years, TCC has invested significantly in both its people and technol­ogy, reaching a production capacity of about 10 billion cigarette sticks. This year TCC expects to reach sales in the domestic market of above 5 billion cigarette sticks and around 3 bil­lion cigarette sticks across its export markets in the Central and Southern Afri­can countries. With all the investment, TCC’s contri­bution to the government revenues has significant­ly increased making TCC amongst the top large tax­payers in Tanzania.

In the first half of this year, TCC recorded outstanding results, great performance and highest sales ever. Both domestic and export vol­umes grew by 16.5% and 3.7% respectively while overall volume increased by 12.5%. During the last 18 months, TCC has increased its share of market to over 90%.

TCC has garnered immense applause & adula­tion from the industry and is the proud winner of many awards. The many feath­ers in the TCC cap include the likes of TOP Employer Tanzania and Africa for 4 consecutive years, Inves­tor in People Gold level award, OSHA, NBAA, DSE & the Minister’s Award for Support on Youth Employ­ment Creation Initiatives through the implementa­tion of the national intern­ship program.

TCC has played a pivotal role in giving back to the community by providing assistive devices to people with disabilities, economic support for poverty allevi­ation to groups of women entrepreneurs as well as sourcing sustainable solu­tions for the community & the industry as a whole.

Overall, the last 60 years showcase a marvelous jour­ney, a story of success, of an unending vision, of per­severance & perfection, of dedication & hard work, of leadership in business & unconditional community service, all of this together has helped strengthen the foundation of TCC.

60 glorious years of pride and heritage, bringing back priceless memories of yes­terday, celebrating today & a promise for a better tomor­row.