Diageo invests in boosting Islay Scotch production

Diageo is to invest £3.5 million to boost the production of Scotch whisky at Islay’s largest distillery, Caol Ila.

The drinks giant hopes the money, which is to be to be spent on upgrading and replacing equipment at the site, will increase production by 700,000 litres a year.

The distillery, founded in 1846, currently produces 5.7m litres of whisky every year, most of which is used in Diageo’s blended whisky brands.

The work, which is due to get underway in June, is expected to take six months.
 
Diageo said the money would be a "major boost" to local firms and generate a knock-on financial benefit to the local economy from contractors, who will have to be brought on to the remote Hebridean island to carry out aspects of the work.

Kevin Sutherland, Diageo’s senior site manager on Islay, said: "An investment of this scale is fantastic for the local economy and it signals Diageo’s deep-rooted commitment to the Islay whisky industry.

"Caol Ila is a wonderful distillery of which we are very proud and I am delighted we are going to be able to produce even more fantastic single malt as well as contributing to the growth of Johnnie Walker and Diageo’s other leading global Scotch brands."

The company has already spent £600m over the past six years on its Scotch whisky operations and last year opened the £40m Roseisle distillery on Speyside – the first major malt whisky distillery to be built in Scotland in over 30 years.

However, the company also attracted negative headlines last year when it announced 700 job losses at its Port Dundas distillery in Glasgow and a packaging plant in Kilmarnock.

Alan Lodge, 30.03.2011