Gin production to move from Oldbury after more than 100 years
A historic distillery in the Black Country is to become a new interactive visitor centre charting the history of gin as major production at the site moves to Warwickshire.
Alcohols Ltd, part of the family-owned Palmer Group, will be relocating much of its production away from the Langley Distillery to Rugby.
The Crosswells Road site in Oldbury will be retained and used for 'innovation' and will also house a new interactive visitor centre to promote the history of gin.
Oldbury currently produces 80 brands of gin including Palmers London Dry Gin. Bosses said the site's old stills, some of which are more than 100 years old, will remain operational for 'batch distillation.' But the bigger equipment will be moved.
The company would not confirm how many workers remain at the Langley site but said: "We employ valued colleagues and wish to retain our staff as part of our exciting growth plan."
The Palmer family, which has been distilling since 1805, opened a brewery on the Langley site in 1870. It became a distillery in 1920.
Gin is produced by the traditional single batch distillation system and the distillery is home to six copper pot stills named for prominent female members of the Palmer family including Angela, Jenny and Constance.
Alcohols Ltd, which employs 65 across its sites, creates the core alcohol for more than 75 per cent of Britain’s artisan gins. It is consolidating its operations at a purpose-built five-acre site at Rugby.
The Palmer Group is one of the largest, privately owned gin distillery and fine alcohol products businesses in the UK.
Alcohols Ltd also produce, store, and distribute a range of fine alcohols, chemical solvents and hydrocarbon products to a wide range of business sectors. These include labelling; food packaging; personal care such as hand sanitisers, perfumes, colognes and cosmetics; pharmaceuticals; automotive products.
There was a huge fire at the Langley site in 2012 and the company was fined £270,000 and ordered to pay £25,000 costs after a Health and Safety Executive investigation. The intensity of the heat left cars wrecked, smashed double-glazed windows and melted front doors, while a member of staff sustained serious burns to his back and face during the inferno. Flames ignited at the factory, on the corner of Hall Street and Crosswells Road in Langley, when chemicals were being transferred from large tanks into smaller plastic containers.
Around 200 homes were evacuated when flames started to take hold at the factory.
The multi-million-pound investment will bring together the company’s head office, currently in Bishop’s Stortford, and its two divisions - the Langley Distillery and its storage and distribution facility in London.
Adam Wallis, Alcohols’ managing director, said: “Because of the heritage of the Palmer Group and Alcohols Ltd, our current operating sites have no capacity for expansion and are severely restricting the growth of the business. They are in locations, which were once rural, but are now surrounded by housing developments. The new Rugby site provides scope for environmentally sensitive future development.
“Our products, services, technical and customer support will all remain fully operational during the development of the new site and facilities. From our customers` perspective, this process will be a seamless transition.
He added: "The new site will bring significant manufacturing capability and allow the business to grow and prosper. The excellent transport connections, train and road with A14/M1/M6 are an added benefit for moving to the region.”
Rugby MP Mark Pawsey said: “It was great to meet with Adam and to see that groundworks at the new multi-million-pound site have started. When the new facility opens in 2023 it will be a great asset for Rugby, strengthening the town’s economy and providing further job opportunities for local people.”
The major investment in the growth of the company and its future will deliver efficiency gains by consolidating the business on a single site and allow for the introduction of new services, such as an on-site laboratory, to enhance customer services.
The new Rugby site will have bespoke storage facilities for chemicals, beverage products and finished goods, as well as new offices and technical support facilities.
Alcohols Ltd produces premium, super premium, and own label London Dry Gin, and have an annual output equating to more than 100 million bottles.
More than 50 per cent of production is exported.
