Thank you to the Institute of Brewing & Distilling (IBD) – Scottish Section for the ‘Lifelong Learning Day’ in Pitlochry. Focusing on sustainability, the event brought brewers and distillers together to learn from a range of speakers about the latest happening across the industry, and also a reminder of some fundamentals and good practice.

Scott Davies and Andrew Mieleniewski, who were coined as the ‘MVR Guys’ at the event, were delighted to have had the opportunity of sharing BRIGGS’ own expertise on how Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) technology – BRIGGS ThermoDrive worked and how it could support in sustainable production. Andrew explained how this energy-saving technology was being applied to GlenAllachie in Aberlour, as part of the Scottish Industrial Entergy Transformation Fund (SIETF).

About Briggs of Burton

If you have eaten or drunk it there is a chance that Briggs of Burton has helped to produce it.

Briggs are the engineers behind supplying the equipment, engineering and automation to the world’s largest food, alcoholic beverage, and pharmaceutical manufacturers

Today Briggs employs over 300 colleagues across six sites in the UK, Scotland, USA, Mexico, China, and Australia. The team deliver turnkey engineering projects for leading household brands covering North America, Europe, Central America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. Briggs’ benefits from a global network of stainless-steel manufacturing facilities, including their own located in Burton on Trent and Prestonpans, Scotland.

Briggs is actively developing sustainable engineering solutions, focusing on their customer’s requirements towards carbon neutrality.

A major milestone has been reached for McMillan Coppersmiths and Fabricators, as two handcrafted copper whisky stills – a wash still and a spirit still – embarked on their journey to Ardgowan Distillery, currently under construction in Inverkip, Scotland.

These traditional copper stills, crafted using techniques dating back to the 1800s, will soon form the heart of Ardgowan’s distilling operations. The project represents a collaborative effort, with teams from BRIGGS and McMillan playing pivotal roles in the design, engineering, and build of the new distillery.

The moment was captured by The Edinburgh Reporter, celebrating this essential step in the distillery’s progress. Further updates on the project’s development will be shared as it continues to take shape.

John McIntosh, McMillan Coppersmith’s Global Projects Director, explained the TVR process which is key which improves the efficiency of the distillation process. He said: “Thermal Vapour Recompression uses the energy we have used before – capturing that, enhancing that and using it again so that it is not lost. Traditionally we had energy used once and then dispelled into the atmosphere. Here we capture it from our heat energy, process it to make our processes more efficient. There is a capital investment in the beginning but that certainly comes with a payback and the end users do benefit from it.”

Martin McAdam, CEO and founder of Ardgowan Distillery, said: “This is a very special day – and a transition of the project. We move from a building site to become a distillery once these stills are installed. This is the culmination of a lot of work here by the guys at McMillan Coppersmiths. We are delighted to have these ready and to be installed on the site in the next couple of days.”

Find out more about McMillan Coppersmiths here.

Photos Courtesy of Duncan McGlynn.

About McMillan Coppersmiths

Founded in 1867, McMillan Coppersmiths has a rich heritage of craftsmanship, with many of its production methods dating back 150 years. The manufacturer prides itself on the traditional handcrafted production of copper stills, as well as semi-automatic and manual welding equipment for welding stainless steel, copper and nickel alloys. Since acquiring McMillan in 2020, Briggs of Burton’s business growth in the Scotch Whisky sector has soared.

People worldwide celebrate World Mental Health Day each year on 10 October. This year’s theme from the World Federation of Mental Health focuses on workplace mental health. Emphasising the need to support mental well-being in the workplace to benefit individuals, organisations, and communities.

At Briggs of Burton, we understand the importance of prioritising mental health and well-being in the workplace. That’s why we’re proud that so many of our team are on hand to support. There are Mental Health First Aiders who can help with short-term challenges, and Mental Health Champions who provide longer-term support and guidance.

Let’s continue to break the stigma surrounding discussing mental health ensuring everyone feels valued, supported, and able to thrive.

About Briggs of Burton

If you have eaten or drunk it there is a chance that Briggs of Burton has helped to produce it.

Briggs are the engineers behind supplying the equipment, engineering and automation to the world’s largest food, alcoholic beverage, and pharmaceutical manufacturers

Today Briggs employs over 300 colleagues across six sites in the UK, Scotland, USA, Mexico, China, and Australia. The team deliver turnkey engineering projects for leading household brands covering North America, Europe, Central America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. Briggs’ benefits from a global network of stainless-steel manufacturing facilities, including their own located in Burton on Trent and Prestonpans, Scotland.

Briggs are actively developing sustainable engineering solutions, focusing on their customer’s requirements towards carbon neutrality. 

McMillan Coppersmiths, one of the world’s oldest coppersmiths, marks four years of growth under the ownership of global engineering company Briggs of Burton.

Specialising in designing and manufacturing copper distillation equipment, McMillan Coppersmiths now supplies customers as far away as Mexico and China, as well as supplying stills and distilling equipment throughout Scotland. Its portfolio includes projects with industry leaders like Diageo, William Grants, Brown Forman, Pernod Ricard, Ardgowan and others. These collaborations have showcased an ability to deliver customised solutions and uphold the highest standards of quality and innovation.

Robert Goudie, Production Manager at McMillan Coppersmiths, said:

“Creating the right spirit involves many factors, including the copper stills we design and hand-make. As whisky enthusiasts know, the shape and size of the still are considered to influence the flavour of the whisky produced by each distillery. Our role is to customise a design that fits perfectly with the spirit they aim to produce, either by recreating and matching their existing shapes, or for newer entrants, drawing inspiration from others combined with customisation to make a strong impact on the aesthetics of the still house. We are now world leaders in the hand crafting of whisky and gin stills, rum stills and worm tubs.”

McMillan was awarded Manufacturer of the Year at the Made in Scotland Awards in 2023.

Rob Buxton, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Briggs of Burton, said:

“Over the last three years we have made a huge investment in McMillan Coppersmiths. This includes building the next generation of coppersmiths through apprenticeships programmes, recruiting and upskilling our team from within , and supporting the team through better welfare facilities and employment contracts.  We have also made a big investment in supporting the team with the development of a health and safety culture.”

About McMillan Coppersmiths

Founded in 1867, McMillan Coppersmiths has a rich heritage of craftsmanship, with many of its production methods dating back 150 years. The manufacturer prides itself on the traditional handcrafted production of copper stills, as well as semi-automatic and manual welding equipment for welding stainless steel, copper and nickel alloys. Since acquiring McMillan in 2020, Briggs of Burton’s business growth in the Scotch Whisky sector has soared.

Briggs of Burton featured in The Press and Journal alongside Gareth Roberts at Organic Architects, Dawn Maskell director at Heriot-Watt University and Liz Fletcher at the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre

Dr Scott Davies spoke to journalist Peter Ranscombe about brewers and distillers being the pioneers of biotechnology and how Briggs of Burton has a long history of supporting its customers by leveraging microorganisms to produce fermentation-based products. The article explores the potential for breweries and distilleries to consider the production of other fermentation-based products with their existing operations. Briggs has worked on many projects around the world, using its process engineering know-how and project delivery experience in engineering systems from propagating and growing yeast for distilled spirits, beer and bread production, to hygienically scaling up fermentation processes to producing liquid biofuels.

Reach out to the team if you want to discuss a project that involves a hygienic process system for the processing of yeast or bacteria across the food, alcoholic beverage, and life science sectors.

About Briggs of Burton

If you have eaten or drunk it there is a chance that Briggs of Burton has helped to produce it.

Briggs are the engineers behind supplying the equipment, engineering and automation to the world’s largest food, alcoholic beverage, and pharmaceutical manufacturers

Today Briggs employs over 350 colleagues across six sites in the UK, Scotland, USA, Mexico, China, and Australia. The team deliver turnkey engineering projects for leading household brands covering North America, Europe, Central America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. Briggs’ benefits from a global network of stainless-steel manufacturing facilities, including their own located in Burton on Trent and Prestonpans, Scotland.

Briggs is actively developing sustainable engineering solutions, focusing

We’ve had a productive couple of days at the Craft Brewers Conference 2024 in Las Vegas. Our colleagues from Briggs of Burton, DME Process Systems Ltd., and Ziemann Holvrieka have been busy networking and sharing our latest technologies around innovation, sustainability and R&D with our customers, partners, and suppliers. A standout moment was hosting an evening event at BrewDog Las Vegas, a great opportunity for team building and discussing how are building some of the most impressive breweries and distilleries around the globe helping them to craft some of the best beer and distilled spirits. We look forward to sharing more content soon. Watch this space!

Cheers to our team, Brewdog Las Vegas and our customers for making the show a success!

About Briggs of Burton

If you have eaten or drunk it there is a chance that Briggs of Burton has helped to produce it.

Briggs are the engineers behind supplying the equipment, engineering and automation to the world’s largest food, alcoholic beverage, and pharmaceutical manufacturers

Today Briggs employs over 350 colleagues across six sites in the UK, Scotland, USA, Mexico, China, and Australia. The team deliver turnkey engineering projects for leading household brands covering North America, Europe, Central America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. Briggs’ benefits from a global network of stainless-steel manufacturing facilities, including their own located in Burton on Trent and Prestonpans, Scotland.

Briggs is actively developing sustainable engineering solutions, focusing on their customer’s requirements towards carbon neutrality. 

Thank you to the James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits for giving Briggs of Burton the opportunity to present at their recent conference. We were proud exhibitors at the conference, showcasing our commitment to supporting the Bourbon Whiskey industry in Kentucky and beyond.

Dr. Ben Connolly, our Lead Research and Development Engineer, delivered a presentation on “Towards a Zero Liquid Effluent Discharge Whisky Distillery.”

He offered valuable insights into sustainable practices that distillers in Kentucky and the surrounding areas can adopt to enhance their operations. A must-watch for anyone in the industry looking for a partner to support them with building a safe, sustainable, and efficient distillery.

If you couldn’t attend, don’t worry you can watch it via YouTube below

Did you know?

We have an office in Louisville, Kentucky, allowing us to work closer with major Bourbon Whiskey producers to design, engineer build safe, sustainable and efficient distilleries. (You can read more about our presence in Kentucky here.)

About Briggs of Burton

If you have eaten or drunk it there is a chance that Briggs of Burton has helped to produce it.

Briggs are the engineers behind supplying the equipment, engineering and automation to the world’s largest food, alcoholic beverage, and pharmaceutical manufacturers

Today Briggs employs over 350 colleagues across six sites in the UK, Scotland, USA, Mexico, China, and Australia. The team deliver turnkey engineering projects for leading household brands covering North America, Europe, Central America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. Briggs’ benefits from a global network of stainless-steel manufacturing facilities, including their own located in Burton on Trent and Prestonpans, Scotland.

Briggs is actively developing sustainable engineering solutions, focusing on their customer’s requirements towards carbon neutrality. 

We’re thrilled to announce the renewal of our ISO 9001:2015 certificate for the company’s Quality Management System (QMS). A reminder of our approach and commitment to Quality Management.

The ISO 9001:2015 standard outlines a framework for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and enhancing a Quality Management System (QMS), ensuring we consistently deliver products and services that meet the needs of our customers and regulatory bodies. The ISO standard is globally acknowledged as the benchmark for quality management. The assessment of our QMS and processes was awarded by Intertek, an independent assessor.

Chris Cafferty, our Head of Quality, shared;

“Earning the ISO 9001:2015 recertification validates our position as a reliable partner, highlighting our robust quality management systems. Though it only applies to the Global Technical Centre, our goal is to unify all sites under this standard, enhancing efficiency and ensuring consistent compliance across the board.

It’s also great to announce that our HR Department has been awarded a ‘best practice’ badge for their excellence in ‘awareness and training’. Congratulations to everyone for your efforts.” In line with our pledge to “Deliver Results”, this milestone reminds us of our promise to consistently meet our commitments, building trust and strong relationships with our customers, colleagues, and stakeholders.

About Briggs of Burton

If you have eaten or drunk it there is a chance that Briggs of Burton has helped to produce it.

Briggs are the engineers behind supplying the equipment, engineering and automation to the world’s largest food, alcoholic beverage, and pharmaceutical manufacturers

Today Briggs employs over 300 colleagues across six sites in the UK, Scotland, USA, Mexico, China, and Australia. The team deliver turnkey engineering projects for leading household brands covering North America, Europe, Central America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. Briggs’ benefits from a global network of stainless-steel manufacturing facilities, including their own located in Burton on Trent and Prestonpans, Scotland.

Briggs are actively developing sustainable engineering solutions, focusing on their customer’s requirements towards carbon neutrality. 

We’re excited to share Laizhou Distillery, owned by Shanghai Bacchus Liquor Co. Ltd., took home four major awards at this year’s Icons of Whisky Awards in Shenzhen, China.

The ‘Icons of Whisky’, a subsidiary of the globally recognised ‘Whisky Magazine,’ invited leading whisky experts, leaders of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association, and industry leaders like Briggs of Burton to promote and celebrate the emergence of Chinese Whisky. Briggs in partnership with our parent company CLPT were lead sponsors of the event. This was a great opportunity for Briggs’ brand to be recognised amongst major distilled spirits producers in attendance who are either building or planning to expand their presence in China. It was great to see, Rob Buxton, our CEO attend the event and personally award Laizhou Distillery the Sustainable Distillery of the Year, a moment of pride and recognition of our partnership in helping them build their impressive distillery.

Laizhou Distillery picked up the following awards:

• Distiller of the Year – Sponsored by CLPT Branch Briggs
• Sustainable Distillery of the Year – Sponsored by CLPT Branch Briggs
• World Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year
• Innovative Brand of the Year

Briggs of Burton’s Impact

The Laizhou Distillery project was delivered by Briggs of Burton with the support of the wider CLPT Group. From traditional copper pot stills manufactured and shipped from McMillan Coppersmiths to locally manufactured stainless-steel tanks supplied by CLPT China. We built a new Greenfield distillery project located in Qionglai in the Province of Chengdu, China. Briggs of Burton have designed, engineered, and commissioned this distillery to produce a range of distilled spirits, many for Shanghai Bacchus Company’s RIO branded Ready-To-Drinks (RTD) cocktails:

•Malt Whisky

•Grain Whisky

•Bourbon style grain whisky

•Grain Neutral Spirit (GNS)

•Vodka

Laizhou Distillery is a first of its kind in China, and at full production it positions the distillery in the Top 10 Grain Whisky producers in the world challenging major Grain distilleries in Scotland and Kentucky.