History of the Mexican Association of Cigar Manufacturers

The Mexican Association of Cigar Manufacturers was founded in October 1995, by all major factories from the San Andres Valley, in Veracruz.

Its purpose at that time was to regulate the quality of Mexican cigars during the "cigar boom" in the US, and to stop the "traffic" of the tabaqueros between factories.

The objectives of the Association are:

	Promote the image of the Mexican cigars worldwide
	Promote the cooperation between Mexican cigar factories to improve the quality of their operation in general
	Certify the quality of the cigars produced by its members

The accomplishments of the Association so far:

A standard control on the quality of Mexican cigars for the Mexican and International markets was set

The standard established by the MACM is certified by a special seal that has been used since 1997

Since its creation, the MACM has participated every year in the International RTDA Show

Chronological History of the Association

2003 Participated at Nashville's RTDA
Participated at Dortmund's Inter-Tabac (Germany)

2002 Participated in the RTDA at Las Vegas, NV
Participated for the first time at Inter-Tabac in Dortmund, Germany

2001 Participated in Tampa's RTDA with our traditional cocktail party.

2000 Participated in the RTDA at San Antonio offering our second cocktail party.

1999 The "Cigar Boom" is over.
Participated in the RTDA at Las Vegas.
Created our logo and designed a new booth for the exhibitions.

1998 Increased our participation in different shows throughout Mexico.
First talks to the Mexican government asking for their support.
Planning for several foreign shows, especially the next RTDA.

1997 Participated in several shows in our country promoting the cigars.
Created our quality stamp and established requirements for its use.

1996 Official start with the participation of 11 factories. Jorge Ortiz Alvarez is elected president of the Association.
Trained many new tabaqueros and established the first quality and technical standards for Mexican cigars.

1995 First meetings and talks but without legal establishment.