UST Inc.

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UST Inc. (NYSE: UST) is a holding company whose subsidiaries include U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company and International Wine & Spirits Ltd., which in turn is a holding company of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, a vintner of premium wines.

UST was founded as the United States Tobacco Co. in 1911, and created the holding company in 1986. The company is incorporated in Delaware, and in the fall of 2006 announced it would move its headquarters from Greenwich, Connecticut to Stamford, Connecticut.

UST reported having an average of 5,111 employees in 2005. That year, UST had a $534 million profit on sales of $1.85 billion.

On November 2, 2006, UST promoted president and chief operating officer Murray Kessler to chief executive officer effective January 1, 2007. Vincent Gierer Jr., who had been CEO since 1993, remained chairman of the board of directors.

UST manufactures smokeless tobacco in Nashville, Tennessee; Hopkinsville, Kentucky; and Franklin Park, Illinois. It also owns vineyards in Washington state and California.

UST held 62.4 percent of the smokeless tobacco market as of the third quarter of 2006, according to an Oct. 26, 2006 report by Morningstar. UST's primary competitors include the Conwood subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc., and Swedish Match.