US: Diageo to expand US cocktail bottling site

By just-drinks.com editorial team | 23 April 2009

Diageo has lined up a further multi-million dollar investment in one of its bottling facilities in the US.

The drinks giant confirmed yesterday (22 April) that it will spend US$20.2m on expanding its bottling facility in Plainfield, Illinois. The announcement follows an $18m boost for the site, which handles the company's ready-to-serve cocktail products, last June.

The 44,000-square-foot addition will house a new bottling line for Diageo's line of cocktails including Smirnoff Pomegranate Martini, Smirnoff Mojito, Smirnoff Grand Cosmopolitan, and Smirnoff Tuscan Lemonade-

"This investment is significant, especially in these difficult economic times," said John Council, president of Diageo Americas Supply. "While our business is not recession-proof, we remain resilient. The Plainfield site remains a centre of excellence for liquid development and new innovations that drive our business like the Smirnoff line of ready-to-serve cocktails."

Established in 1965 as a distillery for United Distillers, the Plainfield site has grown to more than 450,000 square feet and is today one of the largest combined spirits and malt beverage plants in the world, according to Diageo. About 25m cases of spirits and malt beverages are produced in Plainfield every year.

Diageo has this month been linked with a move for either Brown-Forman or Moët Hennessy, the wine and spirits unit of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

Sectors: Spirits, Wine

Companies: Diageo, Smirnoff, Brown-Forman, LVMH