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Diageo
announces new distillery location at Teaninich in
Highlands and a major investment in
Speyside whisky production.
Diageo, the the owner of 28 Scotch malt
whisky distilleries has announced
Teaninich near Alness in the Highlands
as the location for its plans to build a
new malt whisky distillery.
The company also announced a major new
phase of expansion to its Scotch whisky
production in the Speyside area. All of
this activity is a key milestone of the
£1bn five-year investment plan which was
launched last year.
The new distillery, which will create up
to 20 new Diageo jobs, will be adjacent
to the company’s existing Teaninich
distillery but will have its own name
and identity which is yet to be
revealed.
The new distillery involves an
investment in the region of £50million
and will have the capacity to produce
around 13 million litres of spirit per
annum (mla) from 16 copper stills which
will make the new distillery the biggest
in Scotland as far capacity is
concerned, a title currently held by
Roseisle distillery which has an capacity
of 12.5 million litres per annum. An
on-site bio-energy plant will also be
constructed to convert co-products into
green energy to power the distillery.
Expansion of Teaninich
At the same time Diageo, also plans to
invest £12million in expanding the
existing Teaninich distillery to almost
double its current 4.4 mla capacity. The
single malt whisky produced at the new
distillery and at the expanded Teaninich
distillery will be used in a range of
Diageo’s world-leading blended Scotch
whisky brands. Full planning
applications will be submitted to
Highland Council and the company hopes
to be in a position to begin work on the
new distillery in 2014.
Expansion of Mortlach
Diageo also announced plans to invest
around £30million in new production
facilities in Speyside, including a
project to substantially increase the
capacity of the Mortlach distillery at
Dufftown. This will involve the building
of a new stillhouse, which will
replicate the unusual partial-triple
distillation process which makes
Mortlach unique.
Bio-Energy Plant at Glendullan
Another element of the investment will
be the construction of a new plant at
Glendullan to process co-products in an
anaerobic digestion process, producing
bio-gas which will be used to power the
Glendullan distillery. This new plant is
an important element of future
distillery expansion plans on Speyside
as it creates the capacity to process
the extra co-products which will result
from increased Scotch whisky production.
Other Recent Diageo
Investments in Scotch Whisky
These developments build on recent
Diageo investments in Speyside totalling
in excess of £40m, including distillery
expansion and upgrade projects at
Linkwood, Mannochmore, Glendullan,
Dailuaine, Benrinnes, Inchgower,
Cragganmore, Glen Elgin and new
bio-energy plants at Dailuaine &
Glenlossie. Elsewhere in Scotland, as
part of the £1bn investment programme,
the company is progressing plans for a
major expansion of Glen Ord Distillery,
near Muir of Ord and is progressing with
construction of new warehousing at Cluny
near Kirkcaldy.
Brian Higgs, Diageo Malt Distilling
Director, said: "We are delighted to
announce the next phase of investment in
expanding our Scotch whisky production
capacity in Scotland.
"All three sites we considered for the
new malt distillery were excellent
potential locations but after detailed
investigations Teaninich came out just
ahead in terms of the many complex
logistics required when planning such a
development.
"It is a significant investment for the
local economy around Alness and we look
forward to working positively with
Highland Council and the local community
as we progress our plans."
In relation to the latest Speyside
investment Brian Higgs added: "Mortlach
is one of Diageo’s most important malt
whisky distilleries, producing the
finest quality single malt used in our
world-leading blended Scotch whiskies.
We are delighted to be able to develop
and expand this distillery.
"Along with the plans for the new
bio-plant, our financial investment in
Speyside is the equivalent to building a
new distillery and with other expansion
work already underway, the Moray economy
is benefiting significantly from
Diageo’s investment in Scotch whisky
distillation.”
Bryan Donaghey, Managing Director,
Diageo Scotland, said: “This
announcement is a significant milestone
in our £1billion investment programme in
Scotland to support the global growth of
our Scotch whisky brands. The plans also
demonstrate Diageo’s commitment to
building a sustainable business through
investment in energy efficiency and
renewable energy technologies."
Last year Diageo submitted Proposal of
Application Notices (PANs) in relation
to three possible sites for a new
distillery at Teaninich and at
Glendullan and Inchgower, both on
Speyside. Full planning applications
will now be submitted to Highland
Council and Moray Council for the
projects.
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