Three hands is the corporate philosophy of Liem Seeng Tee’s creation represent three important elements in business, namely: Manufacturers, Distributors and Consumers, who must be able to promote as an association in achieving success.
In 1982 Putera Sampoerna took an initiatives to transform the three-hand philosophy as the official Sampoerna logo. As Sampoerna’s affiliated, PMI respected the philosophy by interpreting the three-hand as Sampoerna's commitment to achieving and exceeding expectations of the three main stakeholder groups of the company; adult smokers, employees and business partners, and the wider community.
With its business success, Sampoerna drew the interest of Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI). This led to PT Philip Morris Indonesia (PMID), a subsidiary of PMI, acquiring majority ownership of Sampoerna in May 2005.
Sampoerna strives to preserve Hand-rolled Kretek Cigarettes (SKT) as a tradition. Since 1994, Sampoerna cooperates with Third Party Operators across Java to boost productivity and contribute to local economic development. Currently, Sampoerna operates seven main production facilities, five of these produce SKT products, while the other two are Machine-Made Kretek Cigarette (SKM) facilities. Sampoerna also hold 38 Third Party Operators as its production partners.
Since 1913, Sampoerna has been producing various leading brands. The evolution of visual graphics from respective brand reflects the founder’s vision.
As its tradition of excellence, Research & Development (R&D) has always be a priority in Sampoerna. Started with simple equipment, currently its R&D Group is now equipped with state-of-the-art facilities in Sukorejo production facility, employing hundreds of experts from across the globe.
Early evidence of tobacco consumption in Java can be found in the chronicle Kartasura. During the greatness of King Amangkurat of Mataram Kingdom in 17th century, betel chewing was common throughout Indonesia, being popular among every gender and every social hierarchy level.
Klobot is a cigarettes wrapped with corn husk that is also known with some different names, such as 'Rokok Klembak’, or 'Rokok Wangen'. Unique taste of klobot is popular in Banyumas, Solo and Kedu. The mass production of klobot cigarette was still done until the invention of paper wrapped kretek cigarette in 1913.
Kretek is a unique blend of tobacco and cloves. The word 'kretek' is actually an onomatopoeia from the burning sound of cloves. It is unclear who popularized the term 'kretek', and why it is more popular than other names as 'drug cigarettes' and 'clove cigarettes'.
Hand-rolled Kretek Cigarettes or Sigaret Kretek Tangan (SKT) was initially commercialized by Sampoerna and Mari Kangen in Solo circa 1913. Later on, Sigaret Kretek Tangan Filter were produced by inserting filter in the hand-rolling machines along with the tobacco blend.
Machine-Made Kretek Cigarette or Sigaret Kretek Mesin (SKM) first appeared on the market in 1974. All SKM products come with filters and looks identically to white cigarettes with only glaring exception - the eugenol (cloves oil) stains on the wrapper.