Canada, ON: Pernod Ricard upping support of its Windsor distillery

As Diageo plans the closure of its Crown Royal facility in Ontario, French competitor Pernod Ricard is upping support of its own Canadian distillery in Windsor, The Spirits Business reported on October 8.

Recent investments by the French firm into its Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor, Ontario, are said to be in the region of CA$100 million (US$71.75m), with local news outlet Windsor Star reporting that a further cash injection of CA$15m (US$10.75m) is expected to be put into the site this year.

This further investment is said to be a reaffirmation of the company’s long-term local plans, according to Josh Reit, Pernod Ricard’s senior director of operations at Hiram Walker.

“This site for Pernod Ricard is extremely strategic in North America,” Reit told the Windsor Star. “We look at not only its strategic position with North American supply. We also look at its overall footprint and its capabilities.

“We have the capabilities for rum distillation, whisky distillation, vodka distillation. We also do gin. So not only its location, but its versatility.”

The distillery, which is the largest in North America, has been in continuous operation since opening in 1858. It has been owned by Pernod Ricard since 2005 and employs 450 local workers.

The Hiram Walker Distillery produces approximately 50m bottles of high-proof spirits annually, which are shipped to 27 countries. The facility also has maturing, blending, bottling, and distribution operations.

Furthermore, the site produces 170 different brands under the Pernod Ricard, Hiram Walker, and Corby labels, including Canadian whiskies JP Wiser’s, Lot No. 40, and Gooderham & Worts.

Plus, through an agreement with competitor Suntory Global Spirits, the distillery also produces Canadian Club whisky.

The mayor of Windsor, Drew Dilkins, noted that Pernod Ricard’s investment in the distillery will ensure the site’s longevity.

“This site has longevity like no other in our community, but also in Canada,” he said. “They’re making huge investments to green the plant. It’s huge, huge investments, which you don’t do unless you see a future in this site.”

Reit said the investment into the distillery thus far has focused on sustainability, reducing the site’s carbon emissions, and cutting water and energy use. As such, the distillery’s carbon emissions have dropped 42% in about three years.

“The whole back-end of the process of the distillery at this point is brand new,” he said.

While Reit has not shared the exact plans of how future investment will be spent, he noted that the company is mapping out further investments in Windsor, and the company’s roadmap is “really strong around our efficiencies in the distilling and in the bottling halls, with not only productivity but the sustainability roadmap. So, both have investment plans.”

Pernod Ricard’s support of this Canadian distillery is considered a stark contrast to that of Diageo and its Crown Royal bottling plant in Amherstburg, Ontario.

In August, the Smirnoff owner announced it will be shuttering operations at the site and moving production to the US – a move that will cut approximately 200 local jobs.

Ontario premier Doug Ford has since threatened to ban Crown Royal from LCBO store shelves if Diageo follows through on its plan to close the facility – a promise he doubled down on at a Unifor rally in Brampton on Saturday (4 October).

“A message to all the bigwigs in Diageo: I swear to God, those bottles of Crown Royal are coming off the LCBO shelves when the last person walks out through that door,” he said while wearing a T-shirt with the words ‘Protect Canadian jobs!’.

Then, on Monday (6 October) in Quebec City, during a summit of provincial premiers and US governors from around the Great Lakes, he fired shots at Diageo’s other brands. “The LCBO is the largest purchaser of alcohol in the entire world, and I’ll use that leverage to make sure we send a signal that we are pulling Crown Royal off our shelves as soon as the last person leaves that plant and they can deal with it,” Ford said. “And then we’ll look at Smirnoff next.”