Empey visits world’s oldest distillery as employee numbers are set to increase

Employment Minister, Sir Reg Empey, today praised the Old Bushmills Distillery as it goes from strength to strength.

During a visit to the 401 year old Distillery in the Co Antrim village, the Minister heard the company’s ambitious expansion plans for the next five years. Production is expected to more than double in the next three years and this volume increase will require further building development on the site as well as increasing the number of employees.

Sir Reg said: “In these difficult times it is good to see one of our oldest companies weathering the current economic storm. The company has seen many a recession during its 400 year history and it has survived by ensuring it moves with the times, has a well trained workforce and provides a top quality end product.

“The proposed rise in the number of employees in the Distillery is welcome news to the local area, which has seen its share of redundancies over the past 18 months. I congratulate the Old Bushmills Distillery on its global success and its continued popularity.”

Old Bushmills Distillery currently employs 108 employees, and this is expected to rise over the next five years as the distillery increases production from 450,000 cases today to over a million cases by 2012, and employs more people. This volume increase will also require a new maturation warehouse and further capital expenditure of circa £1.4million.

Notes to editors:

1. Bushmills Distillery operates on a global basis, with key markets being the United States, Canada, the Far East, France, Germany and Spain. Invest NI Mainstream, Invest NI Tourism Department and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board have all supported the operations at Bushmills.
2. In 2005, Diageo acquired the Bushmills Distillery from Pernod Ricard for £200million. The company has invested circa £6million in the distillery infrastructure and the brand and a further £3million in new information technology systems.
3. The Company moved to seven day operations following a successful trial at Christmas 2007. Warehouse number 17 was completed in June 2008 at a cost of £1.5million followed by warehouses 18 and 19 in October 2009 after a further £2.6million investment. This has increased storage capacity by around 44,000 barrels.
4. All media queries should be directed to the Department for Employment and Learning Communications Branch on 028 9025 7872. Out of office hours please contact the duty press officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.