General Cigar Holdings history

United Cigar Manufacturers grew quickly in its first decade; it paid its first dividends in 1909, aided by a series of acquisitions of other cigar makers.

Cigar sales were on the rise throughout the country, reaching a high of 8.5 billion cigars sold in 1920.

1944: The company introduces Cigarillo, a scaled-down panatela cigar resembling a cigarette in size and shape.

Late in 1961, Edgar Cullman led an investment group in the purchase of 37 percent of General Cigar's stock, raising that stake to 45 percent by the following year.

Year-end revenues for 1964 jumped to $193 million.

In 1976, in order to underscore its diversified operations, General Cigar changed its name to Culbro Corporation.

At the beginning of 1980, Culbro sold off its Bachman division and took a substantial loss.

Then, in 1983, Culbro acquired all of the outstanding shares of Eli Witt Company.

Nearly half of Culbro's 1994 sales of $185 million came from its General Cigar consumer products division, which by then included the distribution of the strong-selling Djeep lighters, sold primarily through Wal-Mart.

1996: Company begins operating the Club Macanudo cigar bar in New York.

1997: Culbro Corporation is split into two public companies: General Cigar Holdings, Inc., and Griffin Land & Nurseries.

Although 1998 saw another slump, which the company attributed to a mismatch between buying patterns by retail outlets and consumption patterns, Cullman remained optimistic about the company's ability to regain success in the marketplace.