Ground Broken on New €35 Million Irish Whiskey Distillery
The sod has been turned on the new Tullamore pot still whiskey and malt whiskey distillery being built by William Grant & Sons in Tullamore, County Offaly. The state-of-the-art distillery, which opens in autumn 2014, will bring whiskey production back to the town exactly 60 years since the original distillery closed in 1954.
The initial €35 million investment will meet the long-term production demands for Tullamore D.E.W., the world’s second largest Irish whiskey brand, which is currently growing by over 20% annually.
The new distillery sits on a 58 acre site at Clonminch on the outskirts of Tullamore and the project is supporting in the region of 200 jobs at peak times during the construction phase. The distillery, which is being constructed by Dunne (BCE) Ltd, an Irish subsidiary of the Dunne Group, will combine traditional distillation practices with the very latest in modern and green technologies.
When combined with the new Tullamore D.E.W. Visitor Centre, which reopened late last year following a multi-million euro redevelopment, the total number employed by William Grant & Sons in the town will rise to 25.
Stella David, chief executive of William Grant & Sons, comments: “Our team is working extremely hard on the new distillery. This investment ensures that we can cope with demand as the brand continues to grow globally. As the second largest selling Irish whiskey worldwide, Tullamore D.E.W. plays a significant role in the success of our overall business. When we acquired the brand in 2010 we felt it was important to strengthen the link with Tullamore, which we have done through the distillery and the new Tullamore D.E.W. Visitor Centre which reopened last year. We are proud to be bringing whiskey distilling back to Tullamore for the first time in 60 years.”
Tullamore D.E.W. has doubled worldwide sales to almost 850,000 (9L) cases since 2005. The plan for a new distillery has been prompted by the brand’s rapid growth, driven largely by increased consumer demand for Irish whiskey in the USA and emerging Irish whiskey markets such as Germany, Sweden and Eastern Europe where the brand already occupies a leadership position and is outperforming its competitors. William Grant & Sons currently employs over 90 people in Ireland– in Tullamore, Clonmel andDublin.
