Multi-million dollar packaging facility opens at Wild Turkey Distillery

Gruppo Campari has opened a new US$43 million packaging facility at the Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and Lawrenceburg Mayor Edwinna Baker join Wild Turkey master distiller Jimmy Russell and Gruppo Campari CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz to start the bottling line at the new facility

The 145,000 square foot facility will provide all bottling and packaging capabilities for Campari’s US brands, including Wild Turkey and Skyy Vodka.

It forms part of a US$100 million overall facility upgrade investment the company has pledged over the next three years.

The opening of the site was attended by Commonwealth of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, Gruppo Campari CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz and Wild Turkey master distiller Jimmy Russell.

Governor Beshear said: “Kentucky’s Bourbon industry has been growing at a rapid pace, with production of our native spirit up more than 120%.

“The significant investment Gruppo Campari has made at the Wild Turkey Distillery, including the US$43 million packaging facility, will not only help grow that number through worldwide expansion of the Bourbon category, but will also create valuable jobs for the people of our great Commonwealth.”

The new facility will initially handle up to four million nine-litre cases of product annually, but Gruppo Campari said that it has the capacity to support the company’s entire North American packaging platform in the future.

“By owning the full production process for all our Wild Turkey brands, we can be more nimble in meeting the growing worldwide demand for not only Wild Turkey, but also Skyy Vodka,” said Kunze-Concewitz.

Since purchasing Wild Turkey in 2009, Gruppo Campari has invested US$50 million expansion of the distillery and plans to unveil a new Visitor Centre at the site in 2014.

Russell said: “By having full control of our entire production process from distilling and aging to bottling and packaging, we can really focus on what really matters: producing the world’s greatest Bourbon.”