Universal Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as a leaf tobacco merchant and processor worldwide. It engages in selecting, procuring, processing, packing, storing, shipping, and financing leaf tobacco for sale to, or for the account of, manufacturers of consumer tobacco products. The company processes and/or sells flue-cured and burley tobaccos, dark air-cured tobaccos, and oriental tobaccos. Flue-cured, burley, and oriental tobaccos are principally used in the manufacture of cigarettes; and dark air-cured tobaccos are used primarily in the manufacture of cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco products. In addition, it provides value-added services, such as blending, chemical and physical testing of tobacco, just-in-time inventory management, and manufacturing reconstituted sheet tobacco. The company was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.