Local rum producing giant Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) on Friday commissioned a spanking new warehouse facility that would be used to age its award-winning rum.
The 41,625-square-foot warehouse was constructed at a cost of $340 million in the Bottling Plant Compound at Plantation Great Diamond, East Bank Demerara.
This facility – Warehouse ‘M’ – was critical, given the projected increase in production of its premium brands over the coming decade.
Acting PM Minister Carl Greenidge and DDL Chairman Komal Samaroo commissioning the new Rum Aging Warehouse on Friday
According to the company’s Senior Process Improvement Manager, Shaun Caleb, as part of DDL’s aggressive growth plan and the rapid increase in aged stocks, an expansion programme was embarked on back in 2004, and saw the construction of warehouses at Diamond and Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara. From then on, the company has been increasing its storage capacity.
The new Rum Aging Warehouse has a capacity to hold 30,000 barrels, which represents a one-third increase of its current capacity from four existing warehouses. Those four facilities carry an annual turnover of 90,000 barrels held in storage or that are processed.
Caleb noted that the construction of Warehouse ‘M’ was strategic in supporting the company’s goal of 15% annual growth for the next decade. He added that a broader expansion plan aims to create capacity for 100,000 new barrels by the end of the decade.
“Our interest was not only in adding warehouse space and capacity, but also in optimising the warehouse design to minimise the operations and the footprint of our operations,” he stated in his review of the construction process.
The new rum aging facility – Warehouse ‘M’ – at DDL’s Plantation Diamond location
DDL Chairman, Komal Samaroo, posited that the new Rum Aging facility is the first manifestation of a major expansion project that the company has embarked upon.
Noting that it was a significant investment, the Chairman pointed out that when filled with rum, the value of the facility will be pegged at some US$10 million. He added that three more such facilities are expected to be constructed.
“It’s a really very big risk, but it’s a risk that we’re taking because we believe in what we do. We believe in our product, and I’m pleased to say that we were the pioneer of aged rum on the international market,” Samaroo stated.
While declaring his optimism in the role that DDL would play in the rum industry on a global scale, Samaroo added, “Creating a global brand is an expensive proposition; it is not done overnight. It requires huge investments over many years, it is a long-term strategy, and DDL is fully committed to building its El Dorado Rum brand around the world.”
The acting Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge, who commissioned the new facility on Friday, commended the company for blazing a trail in its rum production operations.
“If we to survive in the competitive world, we have to be able to compete in the world market, and I commend DDL for looking down the road and moving up the value chain,” the minister said.
The construction of this new rum aging warehouse also forms part of the strategic re-alignment of the DDL production facilities east of DDL on the East Bank Demerara public road. By constructing a concrete road with suitable foundation and 20-foot width, the traffic connects the Diamond Bottling Plant, Diamond Warehouses ‘K’ and ‘M’, Distillery operations and TOPCO Juice Plant, with a single thoroughfare for access that is better aligned with the public road, and is upgraded secondary roadway for emergency exit.
Demerara Distillers Limited has been forging ahead with an aggressive growth plan to increase its market share and presence as a leading supplier, particularly of its flagship El Dorado brand, in the local, Caribbean and international segments of the rum business.
