SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic — July 11, 2025
Protabaco has entered a strategic alliance with Fi-Tech, Inc. and Arkote Ltd., becoming the stocking and technical support partner for Arkote knives and Adamantine diamond grinding discs in the Dominican Republic — and putting Arkote stock on the ground in one of the world’s largest premium cigar producing countries for the first time.
For Dominican manufacturers, the change is availability. An Arkote knife previously came from the machine builder, from the United Kingdom, or through Fi-Tech in the United States. Now it comes from Santiago.
The value of that difference is measured in machine hours. A cigarillo line running 800 pieces per minute produces output worth roughly US$1,700 an hour at typical unit costs. High-speed cigarette makers run between 2,000 and 7,000 pieces per minute. Against those rates, the cost of a stopped line dwarfs the cost of getting the part there — which is why a knife on a shelf in Santiago is worth more than the same knife moving through customs.
The alliance began with Protabaco going looking for it. Ramon Emilio Peralta asked Reto Walter Iten, founder and Managing Director of RIM (Reto Iten Metals AG) and himself an Arkote representative and distributor in Romania during the 1990s, to help secure Arkote representation for the Dominican market. Iten approached Arkote Managing Director Peter Russell Oxspring, who had news of his own: Jeffrey G. Bassett was already planning a trip to the country. Oxspring connected the two, and Peralta and Bassett met for the first time in March 2025.
In May, Peralta traveled to Palexpo in Geneva to put the proposal directly to Oxspring and Arkote Commercial Director Robert Andrews.
Arkote is among the world’s leading suppliers of machine knives to the tobacco industry, manufacturing cigarette, cork and filter cutting knives for Hauni, Molins, G.D., Decouflé and Sasib platforms. The company works with global brand producers in more than 80 countries and maintains an agent and distributor network across more than 50, operating from its facility at Parkway Rise, Sheffield. It holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 accreditation, was awarded an EcoVadis Silver rating in May 2025 placing it in the top 15% of companies assessed worldwide, and traces its corporate history to 1881.
The Adamantine grinding wheels and discs covered by the alliance were first introduced to the tobacco industry in 1967 and are manufactured in Richmond, Virginia, home of Fi-Tech, Inc. Founded in 1972 and owned by the Bassett family, Fi-Tech has held Arkote since 2002 and is among the longest-established manufacturers’ representation firms serving the sector.
Bassett, Managing Director of Fi-Tech, Inc., representing both Fi-Tech and Arkote Ltd., traveled to Santiago in July to conclude the agreement, spending four days with Peralta and the Protabaco team. The visit included a joint call at a Dominican factory and a primary tobacco processing operation.
For Protabaco, founded in 2017, carrying a name with Arkote’s trajectory is a milestone the company does not take lightly.
About Fi-Tech, Inc.
Founded in 1972 by C.L. “Lee” Bassett and owned by the Bassett family, Fi-Tech, Inc. is one of the longest-established manufacturers’ representation and distribution firms serving the polymer, synthetic fibers, nonwovens, textiles, converting, perforating and tobacco processing industries. With bases in Richmond, Virginia and San Luis Potosí, Mexico, Fi-Tech maintains spare parts inventory and handles importation directly through an in-house link with U.S. Customs. fi-tech.com
About Arkote Ltd.
Based at Parkway Rise, Sheffield, England, Arkote is one of the world’s leading suppliers of machine knives to the tobacco industry, with a reputation built over more than 60 years and a corporate history reaching back to 1881, when the original business was founded by Albert Reaney Heathcote as A R Heathcote & Company. Arkote manufactures cigarette, cork and filter cutting knives for Hauni, Molins, G.D., Decouflé and SASIB platforms, alongside Adamantine grinding wheels and discs, and serves customers in over 80 countries. Accredited to ISO 9001 (held since 2010) and ISO 14001:2015. Arkote has been owned by Fi-Tech, Inc. and the Bassett family since 2002. arkote.com
About HMK Ltd (Hard Metal Knives)
Based in Congleton, Cheshire, England, and acquired by Arkote Ltd in 2016 after a long-standing relationship supplying tungsten carbide knives to the tobacco industry. HMK develops and manufactures industrial machine knives in sintered tungsten carbide and other hard metal composites, together with replacement wear parts for high-speed processing machinery. Its circular slitting knives are widely used in filter making and cigar cutting, and it manufactures spares for Hauni, Decouflé, G.D., Molins and SASIB platforms. Managing Director Peter Oxspring. hmkltd.co.uk
About RIM (Reto Iten Metals AG)
RIM (Reto Iten Metals AG) is a Swiss company specialising in metals and industrial supply, based in Sarmenstorf, Switzerland. Managed by Reto Walter Iten, who is also a partner at Protabaco, RIM supports the group’s European procurement and stock position. iten-metals.com
