History
At the outset of the nineteenth century, the tobacco trade thrived in Greece. Over 400 companies competed against each other for long-term relationships with tobacco farmers and for stable business links with local and international tobacco manufacturers.
Nicos Gleoudis, a mathematician, physicist and chemist, founded our company in 1927, with central offices in Thessaloniki and a branch office in Volos. The company distinguished itself from the beginning, because of its long-term vision, goals and solid organization. His sons, George and Costas, joined him in 1962. In today’s much more complex world, the third generation is still safeguarding these important values.
The company has achieved rapid, uninterrupted growth, (except for a five-year interval during the Second World War II). Today, it is ranked among the top leaf tobacco enterprises in Greece, purchasing, exporting and processing annually about 16 million kgs of all types of tobaccos in the two state of the art factories it possesses in Axioupolis, Kilkis.
Major turning points in the history of the Greek tobacco trade found Nicos Gleoudis Kavex S.A. ready to play a leading role in new developments, such as promoting Burley tobaccos in 1962, introducing F/C Virginia at the end of the 1980’s, developing its long existing ties with the neighboring countries - due to the recent changes in the E.U. - and restructuring itself in buying green leaf tobaccos from the whole Balkan region.
In 1993, we established a new plant in Elbasan, Albania, which consolidated our position as the largest buyer, processor and exporter of the local Oriental tobacco crop. In 2012 Kavex Balkan was founded in Negotino, F.Y.R.o.Macedonia, strengthening our status in the region and fortifying our Oriental leaf business.
Appropriate responses to new challenges over several decades as well as sustained, exemplary service to our customers were the result of a broad, on-going investment program and unflagging efforts of our experienced and enthusiastic management and work force.
Nicos Gleoudis KAVEX S.A. has always been an independent, fully family owned Company, which, although the core business of is tobacco, also has interests in bulk-carrier shipping, real estate, as well as the production of food stuffs in Albania.
