Beam to consolidate bottling operations

Beam Inc, a leading global premium spirits company, is planning to substantially increase bottling activity in Kentucky and enhance the efficiency of its US bottling operations.  In Q1 2014, the company expects to transition bottling of Pinnacle Vodka and Calico Jack Rum, acquired by Beam in May 2012, from Maine to the company’s recently expanded centre of excellence in Frankfort, Kentucky.

“Consolidating our US bottling operations into our state-of-the-art facility in Kentucky will deliver substantial operational synergies,” says Ian Gourlay, Beam senior vice president of global operations and supply chain.  “Our highly efficient and newly expanded Frankfort facility currently bottles approximately 10 million cases a year and has the capability to absorb the additional – and growing – volume of the three-million-case Pinnacle brand, further enhancing our capacity utilization.”   

The transition will be done in stages and is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2014. As a result, Beam expects to ultimately add approximately 45 new jobs in Kentucky. Beam’s Kentucky operations include distilleries with bottling capability in Clermont, Frankfort and Loretto, as well as a distillery in Boston, Ky.  The company also recently completed a multi-year US$30m investment in the new Jim Beam American Stillhouse visitors’ experience and state-of-the-art global innovation centre in Clermont.  Since 2005, Beam has invested US$128m in its manufacturing footprint in Kentucky and added 200 new jobs to the Commonwealth.

About Beam Inc
Beam's brands include Jim Beam Bourbon, Maker's Mark Bourbon, Sauza Tequila, Pinnacle Vodka, Canadian Club Whisky, Courvoisier Cognac, Teacher's Scotch Whisky, Cruzan Rum, Hornitos Tequila, Knob Creek Bourbon, Laphroaig Scotch Whisky, Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey, EFFEN Vodka, Pucker Flavored Vodka, Larios Gin, Whisky DYC, DeKuyper Cordials, and Skinnygirl Cocktails. Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, Beam is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BEAM and is included in the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI World Index.

24 January 2013 - Felicity Murray