Villazon y Cia
The Tampa company built by Frank and Joe Llaneza that carried the non-Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey and Punch brands until its sale to General Cigar in 1996.
Villazon y Cia emerged from the reorganisation of the Jose Arango company in the late 1940s, when the brothers Frank and Joe Llaneza took it over. The business began with inexpensive machine-made cigars in Tampa and moved progressively into handmade production. Its importance grew sharply after the 1962 embargo, when American demand for Havana cigars had to be met from elsewhere.
The company's answer was Honduras. Frank Llaneza opened Honduras American Tabaco in Danli in 1964 and later added capacity at Cofradia, and Villazon became the vehicle through which non-Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey, Punch, Bolivar, El Rey del Mundo and Bances were produced and sold. The Excalibur line, developed under Villazon, remains one of the most durable Honduran brands. Honduran production allowed the company to sell familiar Havana names to American buyers who could no longer obtain the originals.
Frank Llaneza sold Villazon to General Cigar Company in 1996 at the peak of the cigar boom. The company no longer exists as an independent business, though the Villazon name has continued in use on some product lines and the Honduran plants remain in operation within the General Cigar group. The company is a useful record for tracing how the American market replaced Cuban supply after 1962, since so many of the split trademarks passed through it.