JTI Leaf Services in Danville partnered with the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research for needed laboratory services to ensure quality tobacco blends.
Since the announcement of the joint venture company in 2009, JTI Leaf Services quickly learned that the volume of tobacco samples it would be testing didn’t warrant its own lab or personnel, said Leaf Services Director Steve Daniels. The tobacco procurement and processing facility receives regional farmers’ flue-cured and burley tobacco at the former Dan River Distribution Center in Riverview Industrial Park and continues to grow.
“We are very satisfied with our partnership with the Institute and expect the relationship will continue to add value for both parties for the foreseeable future,” Daniels said in a statement.
Having Institute lab and research technician Dana Lambert perform the needed tests on tobacco samples’ sugar and nicotine content ensures the quality of JTI Leaf Services’ tobacco blends, which are prepared based on leaf quality and stalk position, Daniels said. Such information ensures JTI blenders maintain consistency using different tobacco leaves from around the world.