Exclusive: AIR unveils plans for new plant in Romania

Investing.com - Advanced Inhalation Rituals has announced plans to open a new 70,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Romania, Investing.com has learned, as the flavored hookah group looks to account for geopolitical headwinds ahead of a planned flotation through a blank-check company.

The Dubai-based company said the new factory is anticipated to commence operations in the first quarter of next year, and will eventually support more than 150 jobs. The site will be capable of churning out more than 4,000 tons of flavored shisha molasses every year, AIR added.

AIR's ninth facility worldwide, the site is expected to boost the firm's resilience to what it described as an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment.

CEO Stuart Brazier noted that the facility will support long-term operational strength and supply chain flexibility for AIR's expanding range of products.

AIR said it posted revenues of roughly $400 million in 2025, representing growth of 6% versus the prior year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 8% to $139 million during that time, buoyed by strength in markets such as Germany and Spain.

Meanwhile, hookah usage has especially expanded in the United States in recent years, driven by more cafes and lounges offering flavored smoking options despite health warnings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Reuters has reported.

In December, AIR unveiled the acquisition of Germany's NameLess, as part of a bid to enhance its global position in the flavored hookah market. AIR did not reveal the size of the deal.

In a statement at the time, AIR said the acquisition would bring NameLess into a portfolio of brands that includes Al Fakher, a manufacturer of flavored molasses for shisha pipes that had 14 million customers worldwide as of last year. AIR also owns OOKA, a pod-based device which aims to simulate the experience of smoking shisha, or hookah, without charcoal.

AIR previously launched Crown Switch, its first rechargeable pod vape system, in Germany in November.

Last year, AIR said it had agreed to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition vehicle sponsored by an affiliate of boutique investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald. The deal between AIR and Cantor Equity Partners III values the combined entity at $1.75 billion and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.

Once closed, the combined group AIR Global Limited will become publicly listed on the Nasdaq in the United States under the “AIIR” ticker symbol.

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