Chivas Brothers is investing in the future of Scotch while building on tradition

Chivas | Supplied

There is a romantic vision of Scotch whisky that conjures up traditional images of historic distilleries set in rolling hills, shrouded in mist. While this is still the working reality to a certain extent – with Scotch still made using time-honoured methods from the sprit’s three key raw materials of water, cereals and yeast – it is also a modern, thriving industry.

Today’s whisky makers are committed to balancing the old and the new to establish and maintain jobs, support local economies and communities and, of course, create a high-quality product to be enjoyed worldwide. This is certainly true for Chivas Brothers, a forward-looking Scotch whisky maker that is innovating to be fit for the future as it invests in new technologies.

The Pernod Ricard-owned business is the second-largest producer of Scotch whisky globally and counts such world-renowned brands as Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal and The Glenlivet in its portfolio.

Chivas Brothers is undergoing an exciting period of transformation, with automation and robotics among the new technologies reshaping production by providing time savings, eliminating the risk of human error, and ensuring a consistent supply of whisky for decades to come. Throughout this modernisation, the company says its people are – and always will be – the beating heart of its business.

Part of Chivas Brothers’ vision is its ongoing investment in its 120-acre Kilmalid Campus in Dumbarton. The plant is home to three factories – Clyde, Leven and Balloch – as well as a 35-strong manufacturing engineering team overseeing operations handling up to 250 million bottles of whisky every year.

Investment of more than £60 million over four years is being made at Kilmalid to ensure the site remains a world-class facility that can meet future business requirements and provide jobs for generations to come. Alongside a complete and detailed review of the site and its processes from the ground up, the engineering team has overseen a delivery plan that allows the business to continue production without disruption to its customers.

Tom Hughes | Supplied

Overseeing these complex operations is Tom Hughes, manufacturing director at Chivas Brothers. He joined the company over the summer, bringing with him more than four decades’ experience working for major fast-moving consumer goods brands in the UK, Europe, Asia, and the US.

He says: “I relished the opportunity to come to Chivas Brothers and join the great team of people in Kilmalid. My job encompasses several areas. Firstly, taking care of our people is my absolute priority. When you run a factory of 800 to 1,000 people, all on different working patterns, you have a duty of care to them.

“Second is the product. We have an iconic and historic whisky range which we must enhance and evolve to protect our portfolio for the future. “Taking care of our community is another important factor. We’re a big local employer, with most of our workforce living within five miles of the site at Kilmalid. We give back to the community through volunteering days and charitable giving. We have employees whose parents and grandparents have worked with us – so staying future fit is integral to our long term success.

“Bringing in new technologies, innovating and working with our people to upskill them will enable us to do that – our goal is to be great by 2028!”

Team members, who formerly held roles now fulfilled by automation, are being retrained and upskilled to take on positions that drive greater efficiencies. For example, engineering teams are now responsible for improving, commissioning and using the new skills they have developed.

Supplied

New technologies are also paving the way for job creation, allowing the business to usher in an exciting generation of talent to diversify and invigorate the industry.

Chivas Brothers has recently established a transformation team that is responsible for investigating and implementing new technologies, as well as processing and visualising the vast amounts of data captured across its operations.

Tom also sets out how robotics are being used. “We have robots that can put boxes in any format safely onto pallets without human intervention, which would have previously been done by hand or involving a lot of dangerous forklift truck movements. Now, the job can be done more safely and efficiently through robots.”

Tom also explained that Chivas Brothers has been using sophisticated quality defect cameras that will ultimately leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to detect defects often not visible to the human eye and help with tasks such as ensuring labels are in the right place and that bottles are defect-free, guaranteeing its customers always receive the best quality product possible.

He continues: “Investing in our people isn’t just about retraining, but involving them in the process. We send our Scotland-based teams of operators, technicians, mechanics, and engineers to our European-based suppliers in order to test and learn with new equipment before changes are made. They spend time working the equipment using the technology, and making suggestions of how it can be improved, becoming trainers for their colleagues back on site.”

Sustainability

When Chivas Brothers invests in the future, a commitment to sustainability is at the heart of what it does – for its own business and the industry as a whole.

The company is reducing its overall use of packaging and working towards ensuring it is 100 per cent recyclable, compostable, or reusable, by the end of 2025. Currently, it reports that it is more than 90 per cent of the way there, and is working hard to close the remaining gap.

Achievements to date in this regard include removing all secondary packaging on the Ballantine’s core range. Chivas Regal 18-Year-Old now features a more sustainable bottle, with a 25 per cent weight reduction in glass, and a shift to fully recyclable outer packaging. Meanwhile, Royal Salute has introduced a sustainable coated glass flagon that replaced its signature porcelain version and has reduced its environmental footprint.

Additionally, all packaging components, including the outer canisters for single malt Scotch whiskies in Aberlour’s core range – the 12, 14, 16 and 18 Year-Old – are now fully recyclable in markets capable of recycling carton and tin.

Tom says: “Sustainability runs through our business, meaning our supply chain is a critical link to our success – not only for us but for the industry at large. “As a part of my work with the Scotch Whisky Association, we’re working alongside other members to not only rethink the future of packaging, but reimagine manufacturing processes to pave the way there.

“In the process, we’ll leverage the best available technologies – or create new ones – which require the least amount of energy. “We’re examining areas such as the ideal weight of a bottle, whether we need secondary packaging, and how we can increase the level of recycled and recyclable materials. There’s a huge amount of work going on to set industry standards for packaging.”

Beyond packaging, Chivas Brothers has made significant headway towards its commitment to becoming carbon neutral in distillation by the end of 2026, leveraging Mechanical Vapour Recompression technology to capture and recycle heat generated in the distillation process that would otherwise go to waste, reducing energy usage and carbon emissions.

Tom adds that Chivas Brothers is firmly focused on reducing its carbon footprint, having successfully taken more than 5,000 tonnes of carbon out of the production process within manufacturing alone. With planned projects such as transitioning from gas to electricity and to green energy, the company is well on its way to reaching its ambitious goals.

Tom concludes: “Sustainability really covers everything from grain to glass. It’s only by working together across the industry, with key suppliers and our people that we can reduce waste, become more efficient and make a significant difference to our carbon footprint.

“To continue shaping the future of whisky, we have to be open about our progress, so the industry can evolve while respecting its heritage, and Scotch whisky will continue to be produced for generations to come.”