Davidoff, one of the largest companies in the Dominican cigar industry, has left ProCigar, the Dominican Republic’s main cigar manufacturers’ organization.
The Swiss company had been a member through Tabadom Holdings, Inc., Davidoff’s Dominican manufacturing operation that includes its two cigar factories, tobacco processing operation and farms. It was a founding member and has been a part of ProCigar for 34 years, at least until earlier this year. For decades, ProCigar was led by Hendrik “Henke” Kelner, who was the head of Tabadom and later a global brand ambassador for Davidoff before he left the company in 2021. Since his departure, ProCigar has gotten new leadership and has been undergoing significant change compared to the previous era. It’s unclear how much these changes are related to Davidoff’s decision.
“Tabadom Holding has been a very active and committed member for 34 years, however, looking at our future vision and priorities, we have decided to end our membership with ProCigar,” said the company in a statement to halfwheel. “Looking at our company’s global vision and priorities, including the regulatory challenges we face in our 130 markets, we feel that we need to focus our strengths on our global priorities directly in the markets. At the same time, we will continue defending our industry with the authorities in the many countries we are active in.”
ProCigar is best known for its annual week-long festival, held each year in February. At the 2026 ProCigar Festival, Davidoff’s participation was noticeably scaled back. While Davidoff and ProCigar both acknowledged that the company left the organization, neither specified if a specific event or issue led to this decision. For its part, ProCigar declined to comment to halfwheel.
Davidoff says that it will continue to work with the governments in the Dominican Republic “to ensure a strong voice that best represents our interests and supports the sustainable growth of the cigar industry.”
“We deeply appreciate the years of collaboration, shared learning and mutual experiences and wish ProCigar and all its members greatest success in their future endeavours and in their continued efforts in defending the Dominican cigar and tobacco industry. We count and trust on the understanding of our esteemed aficionados, customers and our colleagues from the ProCigar Festival and wish all continued success.”
Davidoff’s departure leaves ProCigar with 11 full members, though that is likely to be temporary. Drew Estate has announced that it will open its first Dominican factory next year and is an obvious candidate for future membership.
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Davidoff (Company)
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