Glenmorangie Distillery Malt Intake Project

The Client

A highland distillery in Tain overlooking the Dornoch Firth, Glenmorangie has been producing single malt whisky since 1843 and is now part of the Louis Vuitton-Moët Hennessy Group. Abdie Solutions were invited to design a new malt intake, storage & conveying system and produce a tender proposal for the project. Chosen for their experience in malt handling, ability to provide a turnkey solution, and unique design, Abdie Solutions broke ground on the project in summer 2021.

The Brief

• Increase malt storage capacity by 25% to a total of 300 tonnes.
• Relocate the lorry unloading area from the ‘public side’ of the distillery to the ‘operations side’ of the site.
• Decrease intake time from 90 minutes to 30 minutes per lorry.
• Integrate the new system into the existing process.

The Project

The new intake was designed to be a system that was stand-alone and separate from the current intake.

The system involved:

• An above ground intake screw conveyor with an inlet suitable for a ‘sock-tip’ through a HGV trailer’s grain hatch.
• A belt and bucket elevator feeding a chain & flight conveyor – with ATEX safety features such as explosion panels and belt alignment sensor in the elevator and an isolation slide valve on all outlets of the chain conveyor.
• Three 100 tonne capacity silos with flood-fed screw dischargers – for silo isolation (plug screw) and metering of malt output.
• A pneumatic conveying pipeline – with wear-resistant bends.
• A 24 tonne capacity buffer silo – capable of holding sufficient malt for 2 mashes.
• A flood-fed screw conveyor – which connects the new system into the existing process.

During the course of this project, Abdie Solutions were able to showcase their expertise in process design, engineering design & project management as well as their professional capability in CDM site management.

Challenges & Solutions

Challenge – The Scottish malt distilling industry has had rising demand in both the domestic and the export market for many years. As a result, distillery operators face very high production targets and are challenged to maximise production efficiency and reduce:

• Planned Shutdown Time: As a result this makes it challenging for engineering companies to plan the much needed distillery expansion works around very short shutdown windows.
• Unplanned Downtime: All new installations carry their own inherent risk of issues causing downtime, such as: mechanical problems; electrical issues; software difficulties; & human factors (ie. operator & maintenance unfamiliarity).

Solution to reducing planned shutdown time – As part of the design process Abdie Solutions opted for a stand-alone new intake which was completely separate from the current intake. This allowed the Glenmorangie to continue production throughout the duration of the installation phase. Abdie Solutions only required a 1 hour shutdown window to connect the new system into the existing handling kit.

Solution to reducing unplanned downtime – Another key feature of Abdie Solutions’ design was introducing a three-to-six month transition phase during which time the distillery would have the option of instantaneously switching back to their old intake system for a short period of time allowing the conventional snagging process to be completed with minimal loss of production to the client.

Challenge – As with any distillery built in the 19th century, future-proofing into the 21st century wasn’t too high on the agenda. As a result, finding space for 300 tonnes worth of malt storage next to the millhouse often proves impossible. This was indeed the case at Glenmorangie.

Solution – In consultation with Glenmorangie, Abdie Solutions determined the ideal space for locating three silos which was suitable for manoeuvring the HGVs delivering malt. This was situated over a hundred metres away from the millhouse across crowded and undulating terrain. The combination of this distance and challenging terrain resulted in a pneumatic conveying system becoming a more cost effective solution than the use of mechanical conveyors.

Challenge – One large component of the system – a 24 tonne buffer storage bin – was situated inside a historic distillery building adjacent to the millhouse. This part of the distillery can only be accessed via a 1m wide by 2m high door, which would prove challenging when trying to install a 4.5m wide by 7m tall buffer storage bin.

Solution – Abdie Solutions ensured the design of all component parts of the bin were small enough to fit through the door as well as lightweight enough to be manoeuvred into position without the use of a crane or forklift. A flatpack which even Ikea would be proud of!