User:Piedmont NC/Reynolds American

Reynolds American, Inc. (nyse: RAI) is the second-largest tobacco company in the United States. Its holdings include R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Conwood Company (formerly American Snuff Company), Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Forsyth Tobacco and Lane Limited.

Reynolds American's subsidiaries manufacture and market a variety of tobacco products, including cigarettes (Camel, Pall Mall, Kool, Winston, Salem, Doral, Misty, Capri and Natural American Spirit brands); moist snuff (Grizzly and Kodiak brands); little cigars (Winchester and Captain Black brands); pipe tobacco; roll-your-own cigarette tobacco (Bugler and Kite brands); and other tobacco products.

In 2006, Reynolds American's operating companies sold about 28% of all cigarettes sold in the U.S.

History
Reynolds American was formed in January 2004 and began trading publicly on the New York Stock Exchange as RAI in August 2004.

In July 2004 the U.S. business of British American Tobacco (Brown & Williamson) was combined with that of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (R.J. Reynolds), under the R.J. Reynolds name. R.J. Reynolds and Brown & Williamson were the second and third-ranking U.S. tobacco companies prior to the combination. When they combined, R.J. Reynolds became a subsidiary of Reynolds American, with BAT holding a 42% share of RAI. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, which manufactures the additive-free Natural American Spirit brand of tobacco products, also became a subsidiary of Reynolds American at that time.

Prior to becoming RAI operating companies, both R.J. Reynolds and Santa Fe were part of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc., which traded on the New York Stock Exchange as RJR. RJR became a subsidiary of RAI in July 2004. R.J. Reynolds was established as a tobacco company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1875.

In 2006, Reynolds American expanded into the smokeless tobacco category, with the acquisition of Conwood, the second-biggest smokeless tobacco company in the United States. Conwood manufactures and markets moist and dry snuff, loose leaf, plug and twist chewing tobaccos. At the time of the acquisition, 70% of Conwood's sales came from the growing moist-snuff segment, with the Grizzly brand showing the fastest growth. Grizzly’s continued growth since 2006 has made it the best-selling brand in the moist-snuff category.

In 2008, RAI was recognized as a leader in corporate sustainability by being added to the membership in the 2008-2009 Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI North American). RAI is the only U.S. tobacco company and one of 125 North American companies on the index. Selection for the Index is based on performance in a number of economic, environmental and social criteria.