New malting plant now in production at Bairds Malt in Inverness
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Production has now started at a new state-of-the-art malting plant in Inverness.
The expansion at Bairds Malt in Longman Road will more than double the existing production capacity and is set to meet growing demand from Scotland's distilling customers.
Following more than two years of construction work and over 400,000 working hours, Bairds has started wet commissioning at the Inverness site this month and expects to be running at full capacity next month.
The expansion will increase the facility’s production capacity by 57,000 tonnes per annum and it will need to procure around 74,000 tonnes of barley to produce its expected annual malt capacity.
Bairds Malt is part of the United Malt family of brands, a group of international maltsters.
It has four maltings located throughout the eastern seaboard of the UK and over the last few years, Bairds has also expanded its malting operations in Arbroath.
Procurement director and Scotgrain general manager Owen Southwood said: "Expanding our malting capacity in Scotland means sourcing even more local barley – providing a home for grain grown on our doorstep and offering our customers the provenance that is increasingly more important to the whisky consumer."
New state-of-the-art malting plant to double production capacity
The environmental footprint has been a key consideration during the design of the expansion at Inverness.
To ensure water consumption at the new maltings is as sustainable as possible, an advanced membrane boreactor and reverse osmosis plant has been installed.
This has the capacity to produce sufficient additional water for the expansion without generating any additional effluent volumes from the site.
Project coordinator Isla Prentice said, "Having been involved in the project from the beginning, it’s fantastic to see the dream come to reality.
The advanced membrane boreactor and reverse osmosis plant is something we’re particularly proud of as the 57,000 tpa expansion will have no additional water or effluent impact on the local Inverness environment."
Bairds held a celebration in Inverness to commemorate the commissioning of the new plant with employees from across the country, North America and Australasia attending the event.
Mark Kent, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, said: "Despite economic headwinds and other challenges, the Scotch Whisky industry has continued to expand as demand for the product worldwide keeps growing.
"This has led to significant investment being made across the sector, from production through to tourism, which in turn supports jobs and growth in communities throughout the country, and of course contributes to the growth in Scotch Whisky exports to more than £6bn in 2022.
"A strong supply chain is an essential partner in helping us grow and to achieve our sustainability and climate change ambitions. It is great to see an example of this strength and commitment in the expansion of Bairds’ malting facilities in Scotland."
