Mr. Hail was widely known and respected as a knowledgeable "tobacco expert" and was regarded by representatives of the industry as one of the best judges of tobacco in the United States. Mr. Cotton brought to the partnership his financial and marketing expertise. He structured the company's buying and sales efforts to the export market and, to this date, exports account for a significant part of the firm's total volume.

Late in 1923, the partners elected to incorporate with Mr. Hail serving as President of the corporation until his death in 1928. At that time, Mr. Cotton assumed the Presidency. The first Hail & Cotton, Inc. direct packing operation was established in 1924 at Clarksville, Tennessee. Under skilled leadership and abetted by the tireless efforts of its employees, the company survived the crucial 1929-1933 period with uninterrupted service to its customers.

As sales increased, a second factory was built in 1932 in Springfield, Tennessee. These operations handled primarily Dark Fired and Dark Air Cured tobaccos. Hail & Cotton was also a factor in the Burley export trade; packing operations were carried out through independent re-drying companies that were prevalent at that time.

In 1937, Mr. Cotton retired from active participation in Hail & Cotton, and remained Chairman of the Board until his death in 1943. During his long tenure, relationships of dedication and loyalty among all members of the firm were nurtured and cemented, forming the basis of the solid conservative corporation that exists today. Building on that trust, Hail & Cotton expanded its operations to the Flue-Cured area in 1945. Careful attention to customer requests rapidly established the company as a reliable supplier throughout our traditional European trading area.

As industry requirements and marketing techniques changed during the 1960's, Hail & Cotton recognized these trends and adapted company policies and facilities to maintain our competitive capabilities. During this time, sales efforts in the Far East were initiated to provide better balance to our Flue-Cured operation. During the next several years, the company expanded European and North African sales coverage.

In 1967, Hail & Cotton purchased the Fields Tobacco Co. facilities in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. This addition provided the company the threshing capability to service domestic strip orders and provided better processing supervision and additional market coverage to benefit our regular export trade. These capabilities in North Carolina were further upgraded later with the joint-venture purchase of the China American dealer operation and the Eastern Processors packing facility.

In 1974, a new processing/storage complex was built in Springfield, Tennessee, and all Hail & Cotton operations in Tennessee were consolidated there. This facility provides the most complete range of processing capabilities of any plant in the Dark Fired/Dark Air Cured area, as we pack in bundle, loose leaves and strip form in accordance with our customers’ requirements.

In 1990, Hail & Cotton sold the facilities in North Carolina and moved its threshing business to Springfield, Tennessee. The move provided a concentrated base of operations to promote future growth. In 1992, with the acquisition of an additional factory, a complete expansion and upgrade of that processing facility was undertaken to meet our customers' ever-changing needs and demands. Today, while a few large dealers represent a major portion of the tobacco marketplace, Hail & Cotton stands out as an independent alternative to such concentrations of customers' tobacco processing volumes.

We are pleased that Hail & Cotton has demonstrated its flexibility by meeting these challenges and maintaining our competitive position, and we continue to modernize our facilities to meet the quality and processing specifications our customers require. Our one unchanging policy will always be our traditional principle of top quality workmanship and fair treatment for all customer accounts.

We would like to thank our customers throughout the world for the opportunity to serve them for over 100 years. We treasure these excellent relationships and assure to each our full dedication in the future.