Beam Suntory Plans $400M Expansion at Jim Beam Distillery

The project at the Boston, KY distillery will increase the site’s production capacity by 50% and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Powder Bulk Solids Staff

September 16, 2022

1 Min Read
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Representative imageImage courtesy of Sara Stathas / Alamy Stock Photo

Premium spirits firm Beam Suntory announced this week that it will invest $400 million in an expansion project at its Jim Beam Booker Noe distillery in Boston, KY. The funds will increase the location’s capacity by 50% and lower emissions of greenhouse gas.

“We are committed to making a difference by investing in cleaner technologies and systems, and the expansion and significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from this product does just that with our biggest brand,” the company’s president and chief executive officer, Albert Baladi, said in a release.

The alcoholic beverages supplier entered into an agreement with 3 Rivers Energy to erect a facility across the street from the distillery that will process spent stillage into biogas. Treated to renewable gas standards, the biogas will be piped back to the Booker Noe site.

Following the project, the facility will be powered by 65% renewable natural gas and 35% by fossil-based natural gas. Work on the distillery will increase its capacity by 50%  and create 51 new jobs.

Beam Suntory also intends to install high-efficiency gas boilers, scrubbing technology to remove carbon dioxide from fermentation vessels, and implement a purification process that will allow it to reuse 100,000 mt/yr of high-purity carbon dioxide.

“As consumers around the world continue to discover bourbon, we want Jim Beam and our commitment to sustainability to be a part of that discovery,” said Carlo Coppola, managing director of the James B. Beam Distilling Co., in a statement. “I’m so proud to be honoring our legacy as the First Family of Bourbon by leveraging this renewable energy to support our brand’s trajectory for the next 225 years.”

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Powder Bulk Solids Staff

Established in 1983, Powder & Bulk Solids (PBS) serves industries that process, handle, and package dry particulate matter, including the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical markets.

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