The following is from Maxim Engel's Pipes2smoke.com 11 February 2016 Pipe Missive. Maxim has graciously permitted me to post the text of the missive here. If you are not currently subscribed to his email list, I encourage you to sign up on his website.
The demise of UK-made pipe tobacco is a recurring topic of discussion. The importance of manufacturing technology and labor is something often overlooked in those discussions. I myself had not given it much consideration.The End of British Tobaccos – a very erudite smoker wrote to me about the fact that in 1977 the UK legislation prohibiting the use of humectants and flavorings in UK made tobaccos was rescinded; and from there it was all-downhill. Not so. Yes, there were changes but a number of blenders/manufacturers of pipe tobacco told me they minimal except in the cheap drugstore type tobaccos. The quality tobaccos were selling well and there was no reason to change anything significantly. A few quality Aromatics came forth and not much else anew. Gradually some started to use humectants, Bob Gregory told me that Gawith started to use ¼ of 1% humectants - as they still do - compared to makers in other countries who use 25% humectants.
In the late 80’s I dropped into Murrays in Belfast, Northern Ireland, unannounced, and was graciously received. One of their senior persons told me in the making of Dunhill & other qualities tobaccos very little had changed. The recipes were very much the same, a light use of humectants was introduced in some blends but not all and those with flavorings/casings e.g Erinmore, had had some tweaks but they do not see any real need to change from the traditional ways, that worked.
What was hurting them was the ever increasing UK tobacco taxes, the steady decline in the number of pipe smokers and the British labor laws & unions’ strict manning rules. What he did not mention, as it wasn’t in any UK tobacco companies purview, was they were still using very old, if not ancient equipment, while the Germans were developing and using the most modern. The British were very inefficient as their labor and materials costs were steadily rising. Very much akin to what happened to the UK car manufacturers compared to the German.
This lack of modernization and antiquated practices above all else lead to the demise of most UK pipe tobacco companies. The late Bill Taylor concurred with this view. To my knowledge very few people were aware that he was the last person to take the British Pipe Tobacco Blenders course way back when, paid for by Dunhill, it cost GBP 15,000.00.
As the companies gradually became less and less economically viable their formulas/recipes were bought up or licensed by German and other European companies. They then changed the formulas to suit and that was the definitive end of the great British and Scottish tobacco houses & their great blends. Today Gawith and J.F. Germain & Sons remain the sole surviving great tobacco houses of the UK.