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 Independent
Leaf Tobacco Company was formed in April, 2006 by Richard D.
“Rick” Smith, who retired after a 39-year career buying and
selling tobacco around the world for Export Leaf Tobacco Co.
in Wilson, NC.
Working as an independent tobacco dealer, ILTC buys all types of tobacco from growers and sells
it to a myriad of domestic and international customers.
 Born and raised on his family’s farm in Pitt County, Rick
not only worked in the tobacco field but also his family’s
tobacco auction warehouse. Upon graduation from NC State’s
Agricultural Institute program in 1967, he joined Export
Leaf Tobacco Co. as a processing plant foreman. Later, Rick
earned a bachelor’s degree in business management.
Over the years, Rick served Export Leaf Tobacco, a
subsidiary of Brown & Williamson Tobacco, as a leaf buyer
and supervisor and was named senior manager of leaf sales in
1991. Eight years later he was promoted to director of leaf
buying and sales. With the merger of B&W with R. J. Reynolds
Tobacco Corp. in 2004, he became director of leaf sales for
Export Leaf, a division of R. J. R. Tobacco.
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In addition to being responsible for all leaf buying and
sales for B&W, and most recently R. J. R. Tobacco, Rick was
extensively involved in the company’s corporate and
government affairs and farm relations activities. Within the tobacco industry, Rick served as a past president
and chairman of the executive committee of the Tobacco Assn.
of the United States. He currently sits on the board of
directors of the Tobacco Growers Assn. of North Carolina and
serves as president of the North Carolina Tobacco
Foundation.
 A past member of USDA’s Tobacco Advisory Committee, Rick now serves as an appointed
director of the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund
Commission.
Rick is also a past president and current board member of
the Alumni Board of Advisors of the College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences at NC State University. In 2002, he
received the “National Volunteer of the Year Award”
presented by the National Agricultural Alumni and
Development Association.
Rick has established the headquarters of Independent Leaf
Tobacco Co. at a former tobacco warehouse at 2905 Yukon Rd.
in Wilson, NC. Rick continues to be actively involved in the
family farming and warehousing operations in Pitt,
Edgecombe, and Wilson counties.
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Honors for ILTC's Rick Smith |
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In honor of his many years of service to the tobacco
industry, Rick has received two prestigious awards from the NC tobacco industry. In 2004, Rick was named a "Tobacco Great" by NC State Crop Science Department. 
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Then, in 2010 Rick was presented with and "excellence in Agriculture" award from Tobacco Farm Life Museum
Chairman Norman Harrell and NC Ag Commissioner Steve Troxler. Previous recipients of the award included Troxler, Bill Lamm, Frank Grainger, and Bill
Collins.
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 Independent Leaf Tobacco Company is an exceptional supplier
of leaf tobacco, stems and byproducts and a socially
responsible corporate citizen. We follow the principles of
social responsibility, specifically a concern for our
compliance with regulations and our impact upon our
suppliers and the environment. |
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The attached story,
An Independent
Approach to the New World of Leaf Dealing - that
appeared in a recent issue of Tobacco International,
captures the approach I decided to use and have followed
since starting my business in April, 2006.
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