Tabacalera Oliva de Nicaragua
Oliva's Esteli factory, opened in July 2003 with about sixty thousand square feet of rolling space and a reported capacity of fifty thousand cigars a day.
Oliva opened its current Esteli factory in July 2003, replacing a smaller facility as the company grew from a leaf-broking business into a manufacturer. The plant covers roughly sixty thousand square feet and has been reported as capable of producing about fifty thousand cigars a day, placing it among the larger operations in the city. By then Esteli had become the centre of Nicaraguan cigar manufacturing, and scale had become a competitive requirement.
The factory is supplied in substantial part by Oliva-controlled farmland in Esteli, Condega and Jalapa, and the company has emphasised that vertical integration in its marketing since well before it was fashionable. Production covers the Serie V and Serie V Melanio flagships, Serie O and G, Connecticut Reserve, Flor de Oliva, and the Nub and Cain brands. That integration was central to how the company presented itself.
Since the 2016 sale to the Belgian company J. Cortes, the plant has operated within a European-owned group while retaining Oliva family members in production and blending roles. It remains one of the anchor factories of the Esteli industry. The plant also produces cigars for third parties, and its capacity makes it one of the anchor employers in the city alongside the Padron, Perdomo and Drew Estate operations.