US headquarters for Angostura
Trinidad Guardian
Spirits producer Angostura Limited yesterday announced plans to establish a US corporate headquarters at the former Seagram’s distillery and bottling plant it purchased in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, earlier this year.
Angostura chairman Lawrence Duprey, who is also chairman of CL Financial, Angostura’s parent company, announced plans to make the Lawrenceburg facility the flagship of the company’s expanding operations in the US.
In a statement, Duprey said, “We are delighted to expand our presence in Lawrenceburg and elsewhere in the US, and the establishment of a US headquarters is a first step to accomplishing that goal.” He added, “With this acquisition we have the ability to provide a one-stop-shop for the distillation, maturation, blending, bottling and packaging of alcoholic beverages in the white and brown spirit sectors.”
The Angostura distillery in Lawrenceburg, incorporated as Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana LLC, is the single largest spirits distillery in the US. It makes Angostura the largest independent alcoholic spirits producer in the US and an integral part of the supply chain for several multinational spirit brands.
It produces 9 per cent of the total US domestic spirits consumption. This includes more than 31 per cent of the domestic gin demand, 18 per cent of the domestic vodka demand and 14 per cent of the domestic whiskey demand.
Angostura’s purchase of the Lawrenceburg facility preserved about 150 jobs at the distillery.
The former owner Pernod-Ricard USA, had planned to close the plant completely in order to divest itself of excess capacity after the acquisition of Allied Domecq. This would have cost more than 400 jobs.
In the transaction, Angostura acquired a 940,000 grain bushel storage capacity, 27.5 million USPG annual distillation capacity spanning 78 acres, a maturing warehouse capacity in excess of 400,000 barrels and a 196,000-square-foot bottling facility capable of bottling 18 million cases a year.
“We have engaged engineers and surveyors to inspect the operations of the plant and their indications are that it has been maintained and operated at a higher standard than most other distilleries in the US,” Duprey said. “This is a fitting tribute to the management team we have retained, led by plant manager Rick Brock, as well as the skills and training of the entire work force. The quality our product is at the premium end of the industry.”
Angostura said it planned to move some packaging of products, including the world-famous Angostura Bitters and its Lemon Lime & Bitters, to Lawrenceburg. Duprey noted that Angostura will look at all opportunities for growth in the US, including additional acquisitions.
“Our goals are to aggressively grow our presence in the US,” he said. “An industry trend has been to divest of manufacturing capacity and concentrate on brand equity. We plan to lure business to Lawrenceburg and develop long-term relationships with companies wishing to acquire better quality and service for both distillate and packaging,” he added.
