The manufacturer of Golden Gate cigarettes is British American Tobacco. In 1902, the Imperial Tobacco Company of the United Kingdom and the American Tobacco Company of the United States formed a joint venture, British American Tobacco Company Ltd. Initially, British American Tobacco was intended to serve the market outside of America and England. The company expanded quickly and was already represented in India and Egypt in 1905, for example. In 1906 the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Norway and in 1908 also Finland, Indonesia followed and East Africa.
In 1911, the manufacturer of Golden Gate cigarettes was forced to sell its shares in British American Tobacco under a Sherman Antitrust Act charge, and so predominantly British investors took over the American shares. British American Tobacco was later listed on the London Stock Exchange and has now expanded its operations around the world.
Only the market in Great Britain was an exception until 1972 due to the territorial agreements with Imperial Tobacco that still existed. Over time, the company continued to expand and thus systematically built on its success. In 1920 British American Tobacco Switzerland (BAT), the manufacturer of Golden Gate cigarettes, was founded. Today, British American Tobacco is the market leader in over 50 countries and owns 45 cigarette factories in 39 states. In 2017, British American Tobacco entered into a purchase agreement to acquire competitor RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company.
In 1979, British American Tobacco founded the BAT Leisure Research Institute in Hamburg, which was converted into the Foundation for Future Issues in 2007.
Finally in 2000 there was a merger between the manufacturer of Golden Gate cigarettes and Rothmans, which was then reorganized under British American Tobacco (Industrie) GmbH. In 2005 it was merged with the Brinkmann-Niemeyer Group. In 2010, the distribution agreement between British American Tobacco and Altadis for the marketing and distribution of the Gauloises and Gitanes brands in Germany ended.
In the same year, the manufacturer of Golden Gate cigarettes was number 3 in the German cigarette market with around 2100 employees. The locations of the tobacco company in Germany are the headquarters in Hamburg, the world’s largest BAT production facility in Bayreuth (1400 employees, 40 billion cigarettes per year).