Springbank rumour distillery to be mothballed?

[Newbie]

It was an interesting discussion of Springbank and economics. You have raised interesting and valid points regarding this issue. But as usual you have once again gotten so entrenched in your own beliefs that you begin to believe that it must be the only version of events and therefore reality.

I am not looking to attack you, as there has been way to much arguing going on. I simply saying that there are other possibilties and that you could be more open minded and comtemplate both sides of the discussion rather than just hammering your point accross constantly.

[Deactivated Member]

I am not looking to attack you

Yes you are

[weetoon1]

Glenmorangie going Bust!
Glen Moray Distillery to be sold
Broxburn to be sold to dayglo.. Redundancies !
Odd company run by Odd people, maybe they just couldn't be bottered.
Sorry got it wrong this is a £45million investment?

[Deactivated Member]

Glenmorangie going Bust!
Glen Moray Distillery to be sold
Broxburn to be sold to dayglo.. Redundancies !
Odd company run by Odd people, maybe they just couldn't be bottered.
Sorry got it wrong this is a £45million investment?

You seem to be taking this very personally.

[Iain]

Take a chill pill, everybody.

I'll second that. It's an interesting and valid topic for discussion, and some intriguing and thoughtful comments have been shared. If folks get peevish it discourages others from chipping in with their own tuppence-worths.

[weetoon1]

not at all,
Just thought I would see if I could take a press release from
glenmorangie, and put a similar spin on it, as appears to have been put on the Springbank story.
cutting production,has morphed into mothballed. I wanted to see what could be morphed out of morangies story.

As I can see Springbank Distillery from my window (Its distilling at the moment) I can report its not mothballed yet.

[richard]

i must admit i took all the articles about springbank tongue in cheek but i did read most of the articles i thought it was a storm in a tea cup

but if you go to scotchwhisky.net it all seems true a bit of a shock to me go and have a read yourselves


richard

[Deactivated Member]

I am not looking to attack you

Yes you are

Me too! You damned black hat, Nick!

Newbie, Nick can be pretty infuriating, but don't forget, he's also really aggravating.

[les taylor]

, but you'd miss me if I weren't here.

Nick that's true. I don't want to appear gushy but I do enjoy reading your deliberations. Very informative and interesting.

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

a little hard data.

John Hansell of Maltadvocate has a statement of Henry Preiss, US importer of Springbank that we should take to heart.

http://www.maltadvocate.com/what-does-john-know.asp

Not sure this leads you straight to the comments. So if it does not please make the effort.

Click on the heading "Springbank, Glengyle shutting down?"

Thank you.

Greetings
kallaskander

[I_SPEY]

Hi there,

a little hard data.

John Hansell of Maltadvocate has a statement of Henry Preiss, US importer of Springbank that we should take to heart.

http://www.maltadvocate.com/what-does-john-know.asp

Not sure this leads you straight to the comments. So if it does not please make the effort.

Click on the heading "Springbank, Glengyle shutting down?"

Thank you.

Greetings
kallaskander

I read it, kallaskander. Interesting!
What's more interesting for me is, that story above Springbank!
About Bruichladdich:
Bruichladdich is re-organizing some of their whiskies to create a more cohesive, easy to understand portfolio spanning three different peating levels.

Maybe they do observe and listen to people on fora, talking e.g. about whisky, in particular about Bruichladdich? I'm not realy sure, but nevertheless....
Maybe I'm dreaming......

[les taylor]

, but you'd miss me if I weren't here.

Nick that's true. I don't want to appear gushy but I do enjoy reading your deliberations. Very informative and interesting.

That's true too Les. I just wish he'd take his black hat off and get a nice shiny orange one.

Nick I like the dutch as well.

[Iain]

I read it, kallaskander. Interesting!
What's more interesting for me is, that story above Springbank!
About Bruichladdich:

"Each cuvee is masterfully assembled by whisky legend Jim McEwan"

"Cuvee"? ? Is that a vat? Has Laddie been purchased by LVMH and relocated to France? Does Jim McEwan wear a beret and smoke Gauloises now?

That's just a rumour, mind...

[WhiskyViking]

"Cuvee"? ? Is that a vat? Has Laddie been purchased by LVMH and relocated to France?

In French all right. Cuvee is the term for expression in Champagne, mainly a blend of different vintages. Seems like Mr Reynier has spent a little too much time in Franch purchasing fancy wine casks.

[Spirit of Islay]

Soon sickened ourselves of the "Serious" Springbank talk and resorted to the usual Laddie bashing i see.......

[smn]

One odd thing I just realized when checking the Springbank entry for the malt Whisky Yearbook 2008:
- The yearbook lists Springbank as having a capacity of 750000 litres
- It states: "The production team alternates between Springbank and Glengyle and Springbank has for a long time been running under full capacity"
- It also states: "This year around 160000 litres will be produced, split between 80% Springbank, and 10% eaco of the other two"

These three statements don't match at all. 160000 litres is 21.3% of the distillerys full capacity, and if they would've run at full capacity until now they would've produced 375000 litres already.

So .. Was the production cut actually printed out in the Yearbook months ago, or is there some other explanation to this? Only other explanation I could think of would be that 78.7% of springbanks malt goes to blends but that sounds somewhat high given the distillerys profile.

(Long time lurker here, finally managed to register thanks to this thread. Hi all!)

[Willie JJ]

Welcome smn.

Springbank is limited by the amount of malt that can be made in the floor maltings, so it does not produce at capacity. If it took malt from a commercial maltings then I believe production could be increased substantially. Clearly that isn't part of the plan at the moment.

Cheers

[sievm]

smn - you will find that a large proportion of some distilleries (larger than 78%) goes for blending so that may explain your figures

[Single Malt Kommunist]

I visited SB a few weeks ago and remember them saying they had 31 employees - thats quite a bit for any distillery (at least from the ones I visited thus far). That combined with rising commodity prices may have caused the man. to look at this as the right time to move to an automated, computerized system. And if production has merely decreased and not stopped completely, then im not sure what the big deal is about. Theyre reorganizing, optimizing, hiring cheap labor from the US, installing solar panels, who knows.

Assuming SB is still selling the same volume of goods, have an excellent credit rating, and are well positioned for the growing whisky market, they would be in a very good position to renegotiate the covenants on their current short/long term loans. So "cash flow problem" as a blanket issue is not going to cut it - they could solve that with debt restructuring. Maybe "fiscally responsible" is more realistic - they dont like to gamble with more/longer debt. Its a family business, right?

And even if SB has an issue with debt, why would they say anything about it, or try to explain the nature of the situation? Theyre private - they dont need to explain their business strategy/business challenge to anyone, especially those who would be pleased with their demise.

Perhaps Im too naive and like to think SB doesnt feel the need to spin up some crap just to keep the old men on the balcony quiet. A toast to the old men on the balcony, for their sarcasm always leaves me smiling!

[weetoon1]

There was talk about opening the malt floors at Glengyle
but they would take some work.
They appear to be roofing an old warehouse at the moment
2 other warehouses on Glebe street were finished last year.

[Deactivated Member]

Theyre reorganizing, optimizing, hiring cheap labor from the US....

Damn, I missed that advert.

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

in the hope that John is not adverse to copying from his excellent pages

The REAL scoop on Springbank
July 1st, 2008

Steve Fox, my contact from Springbank's US importer, Preiss Imports, just spoke with Neil Clapperton, managing director for Springbank. I just spoke with Steve. Here's a more clear and concise explanation of what Springbank is doing and why.

Springbank is closing down for approximately six months until January, when they plan to start back up again. When they do, it will be two shifts per day, not the maxed out three shifts per day as they've been doing. They are calling it an extended outage, so we will leave it at that. Also, seven people are being made redundant.

The reason behind the temporary shutdown?

1. Work on a boiler and other maintenance issues
2. They have been producing more than their projected sales growth
3. Limiting warehouse space
4. A desire to grow at a gradual pace
5. Drastically increased price for barley and fuel

And I was told that all those rumors of Springbank being up for sale are false.

So, we can now put all this behind us and find something else to obsess over.

And there is some good news here too. A Springbank 18 year old is slated to be released early in 2009! Something to look forward to.

http://www.maltadvocate.com/what-does-john-know.asp

Greetings
kallaskander

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

and from the same source the next subject for intense discussion

Glen Moray being sold
July 1st, 2008

It was announced today through various media sources that Glenmorangie plc is going to sell its Glen Moray distillery and focus its efforts (and finances) on Glenmorangie and Ardbeg. It is also going to move its headquarters to Edinburgh from its existing location in Broxburn.

Glen Moray has always been the Bridesmaid to Glenmorangie. Maybe its new owner will show us what this distillery can really do. I particularly enjoyed some of the older vintages of Glen Moray over the years.

http://www.maltadvocate.com/what-does-john-know.asp


To be honest that does not surprise me if it should come to pass. Louis Vitton Moet Henessey have no use for the Glen Moray brand. They were after Ardbeg and Glenmorangie has enough standing for them to keep the beand. But Glen Moray would need too much investment to create a premium image.So they sell it.
The good news here is that Glen Moray will stay in a affordable price range in the future.
Argh, the French in the whisky business.

Greetings
kallaskander

[irishwhiskeychaser]

I know I'm a bit of a black hat, but you'd miss me if I weren't here.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

It was announced today through various media sources that Glenmorangie plc is going to sell its Glen Moray distillery and focus its efforts (and finances) on Glenmorangie and Ardbeg.

Greetings
kallaskander

I am crushed ..... does that mean no more Serendipity

[Willie JJ]

I think they would have struggled to get away with having the same accident twice in any case Adrian.

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

you sure?

I was told but have no proof that there were two batches of Serendipity.

No joke, no irony.

Greetings
kallaskander

[Newbie]

But IWC think of all the other potential 'accidents waiting to happen'
Perhaps next years single cask Ardbeg will come with a LV handbag or a vatting of a Givenchy fragrance and Glenmorangie - a eau de toilette pour homme

Nick all I am saying is keep an open mind

[irishwhiskeychaser]

i must admit i took all the articles about springbank tongue in cheek but i did read most of the articles i thought it was a storm in a tea cup

but if you go to scotchwhisky.net it all seems true a bit of a shock to me go and have a read yourselves


richard

Even though this is probably the best report on the subject ... I'd always be very careful in what you read to be true ..... no matter from what media source including reputable Whisky sites.

[TreacleSponge]

But IWC think of all the other potential 'accidents waiting to happen'
Perhaps next years single cask Ardbeg will come with a LV handbag or a vatting of a Givenchy fragrance and Glenmorangie - a eau de toilette pour homme

Bring it on

[Rob Allanson]

This was sent to me and will be appearing in the mag as well:



As a consequence of the continuing instability of basic raw material prices, which have doubled within the last year, the management of J & A Mitchell and Company Ltd. have decided to cut back the production of new spirit at their Springbank and Glengyle Distilleries until prices settle. The state of the materials market will be kept under continuous review.
The opportunity will be taken to carry out necessary maintenance work and create the increased warehousing accommodation required for future development. In the short term there will however, regrettably, be a few staff redundancies. There will be no impact on the availability of bottled Springbank whisky or the Kilkerran whisky from its Glengyle Distillery as the Company has ample stocks of young maturing whisky which will enable it to continue supplying its home and export
markets as normal.
Chairman
J & A Mitchell and Company Ltd.

[Deactivated Member]

Thanks Rob - but that dosen't quell the speculation!

Since they are in the news, have you heard what was said to illicit this petulant message?

[img]You will be aware that J & A Mitchell & Co Ltd. and its subsidiary company Mitchell's Glengyle Ltd., proprietors of the Springbank and Glengyle Distilleries in Campbeltown, were original and enthusiastic members of the Whisky Coast cooperative project. It had been our hope that the Whisky Coast would be mutually beneficial not only to the individual distillery members but also to other businesses involved in tourism and travel in Argyll and Western Inverness-shire.


However it has been brought to our attention that the Chairman of the Whisky Coast has made a public statement which we consider not only inappropriate but also indicative of a hostility to our firms. In the circumstances we do not believe that we can usefully contribute to future activities of the Whisky Coast and we are therefore withdrawing our companies and their distilleries from membership of the Whisky Coast. Whilst no longer contributing to the venture we do, nevertheless, wish members every success in their individual businesses.


Hedley G Wright
Chairman, J & A Mitchell & Co Ltd.
Chairman, Mitchell's Glengyle Ltd.[/img]

[weetoon1]

Mark Reynier, managing director of the Bruichladdich distillery on Islay, said it was an "odd decision from a very odd bunch of people".
He said: "They are not like other businesses. Maybe they decided they just could not be bothered."

[Deactivated Member]

But whisky IS an odd business! I think The Laddie looked worse for that statement than SB but unfrotunately they seem to be throwing the toys out of the pram!
I like Springbank. I like their whisky a lot. Their recent PR doesn't, however, inspire confidence in their management ability to stay afloat.
I remember a tour I had there when they said they had refused to deal with supermarkets. At the time I applauded them for their stand, but where business is concerned, was it the best move?
Nowadays competition for shelf space is at a premium and just getting the name out there - even at a reduced price- is still advertising. They don't need to be massive, but if they are not careful they may, like all other Campbeltown distilleries (bar one), fade away into obscurity.
Apart from "whisky nuts" like us who frequent specialist shops etc. in reality Springbank is not the biggest whisky name, let alone Longrow or Hazelburn.
They need to get the name out there and withdrawing from things like the Whisky coast because of a silly comment does not help their global image.

[weetoon1]

Who says Springbank in trouble?
just a few people here.
Neil clapperton appears to be correct in what he said to the
american guy (previous post)
They are working at the moment, they are building warehouses,
They intend distilling enough Whisky to to cover predicted
future sales, they don't supply anyone for blending, when prices settle (up or Down) and they have built extra warehousing, they will return to 3 shifts a day, instead of the 2 shifts a day they are starting in January 2009.
The Guy from the Laddie should have thought about the people who lost jobs.... "they couldn't be bothered"
that's (if he said it ) just Crass!