Global drinks giant to shift Irish whiskey bottling to Scotland

Cooley Distillery, which was acquired by SGS through its Beam Inc predecessor in 2011, makes the Kilbeggan, Tyrconnell and Connemara whiskey brands.

According to the Irish Independent, SGS informed staff at Cooley Distillery of the plans to relocate bottling activity to other group sites in Spain and Scotland last month.

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The move would see SGS bottle its Irish whiskey brands at its operational sites in Springburn, Glasgow and Segovia, Spain.

SGS is one of the world’s leading premium spirits companies,  with annual global sales of approximately $5.5 billion as a total business. It employs roughly 400 people in Scotland.

In an interview with The Herald back in July, Robbie Millar, then President of Global Whiskies & Prestige at SGS, described Scotch whisky as a “massive success story” for Scotland.

However, he contended that he does not “always think the value of the industry is fully understood, whether for the international sales it generates, or the employment and in-bound tourism it creates.”