May 2026: Altria to Consolidate Smokeless and Nicotine Pouch Manufacturing in Kentucky
Altria Group subsidiary U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company (USSTC) has announced plans to modernize its manufacturing footprint by transitioning operations from its longstanding Nashville, Tennessee plant to a new 270,000-square-foot facility to be built on an existing campus in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Production in Nashville will wind down gradually, with operations expected to conclude in early 2028.
The move shifts capacity from Nashville’s legacy 800,000-square-foot plant to the expanded Hopkinsville hub. The Nashville facility is primarily used for finishing and packaging Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands. Consolidating activities in Kentucky will allow nearly all processing, production, and finishing stages to be completed at a single site, rather than split across two locations.
The consolidation is expected to eliminate fixed-cost inefficiencies, streamline operations, and generate long-term savings. In addition to traditional moist smokeless tobacco products, the upgraded Kentucky site will support production of the modern oral nicotine pouch brand on!. USSTC also plans to sell its more than 30-acre Nashville campus in downtown Nashville. The site dates back more than a century and currently employs hundreds of workers across manufacturing and processing functions.
The Hopkinsville expansion builds on USSTC’s existing tobacco processing operations in Kentucky and reflects Altria’s broader strategy of optimizing its manufacturing network while increasing focus on smoke-free products. The modernized facility is expected to offer enhanced production capabilities, improved logistics integration, and greater flexibility to support future innovation in oral nicotine products.
