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Glen Keith
distillery re-opened as Chivas Brothers
expansion continues.
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs
and Environment Richard Lochhead MSP
officially re-opened the Chivas
Brothers-owned Glen Keith distillery on
Friday 14th June.
The distillery has been ‘silent’ since
1999, but it was announced in 2012 that
it would re-open to help the company
continue to meet increasing worldwide
demand for its luxury Scotch whiskies,
which include world-renowned blends
Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s and Royal
Salute.
The Glen Keith re-opening is just one
phase in a continued programme of
investment for Chivas Brothers. The
company has committed £40 million annual
capital expenditure on its operations.
Other recent major investments have
included the £10 million expansion of
The Glenlivet Distillery in 2010,
increasing its distillation capacity by
75%. In 2012 expansion work at
Glenallachie, Longmorn, Glentauchers and
Tormore distilleries – in addition to
the Glen Keith project – increased the
company’s malt distillation capacity by
a further 25%, while in Paisley it
opened a new super-premium bottling
hall, focused on the hand-packaging of
its highest-value expressions.
This programme of investment will
culminate in the building of a brand new
distillery at Carron on the River Spey,
to open in 2014. Planning permission for
the project was granted by Moray Council
in April this year.
Declaring Glen Keith distillery
officially open, Mr Lochhead, who
is also MSP for Moray, said: "The Scotch
whisky industry is one of Scotland’s
great success stories with exports
hitting a record £4.3 billion in 2012.
It also provides valuable jobs across
rural Scotland, which in turn supports
communities, particularly in Speyside
where we have a concentration of
distilleries. There are of course knock
on benefits for other industry sectors
such as tourism. Whisky can act as a
draw for visitors curious to see where
their favourite tipple is made, and for
the local manufacturing sector who
provide the fabrication skills for the
whisky industry to continue to thrive.
"I do enjoy a wee dram myself and I’m
always happy to see a local distillery
like Glen Keith being brought back to
life – it’s a great boost to the local
area. This is a positive step which will
play an important part in delivery of
even greater success for Chivas Brothers
and help them to market themselves to
the world. I wish them every success."
Christian Porta, Chivas Brothers
Chairman and CEO, said: "It is wonderful
to see this distillery re-opened and
producing spirit once again. The fact
that we are re-opening a silent
distillery, and are soon to build a
brand-new distillery in the region,
shows just how strong the demand for our
luxury Scotch whiskies is.
"With our extensive inventory of more
than six million casks, and this new
increased distilling capacity, we are
well placed to continue to meet this
demand, safeguarding the future of our
award-winning brands for decades to
come. The sweet, fruity spirit produced
at Glen Keith, will be aged in oak casks
and used in the Chivas Regal and Royal
Salute blends, as it was in the past."
Prior to re-opening, the distillery
underwent a major upgrade, resulting in
a 50% greater malt distillation
capacity. Work included the installation
of new malt storage facilities, and a
new mash-house and tun-room, which
accommodates the new mash tun along with
six additional washbacks, bringing the
total to 15. The distillery’s existing
six still were also refurbished.
Environmental improvements at Glen Keith
will make this distillery one of the
company’s most energy efficient, with
the heat generated during distillation
being recycled within the process. The
latest generation of still thermo
compression systems has for the first
time been incorporated into both wash
and spirit distillations. This gives a
further energy usage reduction of 15%
compared to Chivas Brothers’ current
most efficient distillery.
The investment at Glen Keith has already
brought real benefits to the Speyside
business community with a number of
local contractors involved in the
upgrade. Building work was undertaken by
A.D. Walker of Banff, structural steel
work by W.R. Simmers of Keith, and the
distillery’s new wooden washbacks were
built and installed by Joseph Brown Vats
of Dufftown. Stills were refurbished by
Forsyth Group of Rothes, while malt and
grist handling was carried out by Clark
& Sutherland in Keith.
Two companies from just outside Keith –
L.H. Stainless and Advanced Electrics –
carried out stainless steel piping and
tanks installation and electrical works
respectively, while C&A Innes of Keith
upgraded the distillery’s water supply.
Other local contractors at Glen Keith
included G&A Construction of Dufftown,
McKerron & Milne roofwork and
McCormack’s scaffolding of Rothes, D
Paterson steelwork of Elgin, and I
Fraser & Sons electrical of Rothes. The
new mash tun was constructed by Briggs
of Burton.
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