(From TobaccoPipes)
Growing up in the industry in his father's tobacco and cigar factory, Rudiger L. Will's love affair with fine pipe tobaccos began at an early age. He loved to play among the hogsheads of tobacco and throughout the factory, always reveling in the remarkable distinctive scents and aromas of the various tobaccos. Upon completing high school, Will went to work for Dresdner Bank as an apprentice. His tenure in the banking industry was to prove short lived, however; his great love for tobacco could never be fulfilled and he felt compelled to return to the industry of his father, the industry that had raised him.

For three years he worked as an apprentice and trainee at the tobacco factory, carefully learning the art and craft associated with the beloved leaf. Later in his learning process, Will traveled to the United States and specifically North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia to study the processes and methods of the farmers there. Having cultivated a thorough ...understanding of the agriculture, blending and manufacturing of fine tobaccos, Will set about carefully and diligently developing his own blends.

In 1990 he released his first two tobaccos under the Reiner label. Intending to create elegant, smooth, mild tobaccos that emphasized subtlety and gentle sweetness, Will focused his work on fragrant, high quality, Virginia based tobaccos seasoned with a variety of natural spice tobaccos and extracts. His goal was to develop tobaccos that both satisfied the smoker and those in his company. By 1997, Will released his fourth and last tobacco in the Reiner line, 'Professional Blend' which is an elegant and remarkable culmination for this line.

In 1997, Rudiger L. Will released his second line of pipe tobaccos. Dubbed 'Solani' after the Latin word 'Solanum' for the family of nightshade plants (which includes the tobacco plant as well as potatoes, tomatoes and peppers among others), he carefully focused on the natural state of the tobaccos in their matured form. Relying heavily upon natural processes, Will strove to keep his tobaccos additive free.