Plant for making and packaging cigarettes

A plant for making and packaging cigarettes, comprising:

• a plurality of cigarette-making machines;
• a plurality of packaging machines for packaging cigarettes in at least one of packs, cartons and boxes;
• a first transport means for transporting manufacturing materials to the cigarette-making machines and packaging machines;
• a second transport means for transporting cigarettes in containers from one of:
• (i) the cigarette-making machines to the packaging machines, and (ii) the cigarette-making machines through an intermediate store to the packaging machines;
• a container-filling and container-handling station located downstream of each of the cigarette-making machines,
• wherein the cigarette-making machines with the downstream stations are combined to form at least one side-by side module with identical direction of materials flow with the downstream stations situated at the second transport system;
• and
• a container-handling and container-emptying station arranged upstream from each of the packaging machines, wherein the packaging machines with the upstream stations are combined to form at least one side-by-side module with identical direction of materials flow with the upstream stations situated at the second transport system, wherein at least one intermediate store for the containers is situated at the second transport system,
• wherein the second transport system comprises driverless, floor-bound vehicles for transporting containers which are circulated in one direction on at least two tracks arranged in side-by-side relationship, and
• wherein the first transport system extends on all modules' side far from the second transport system.