Irish Distillers’ maturation site at Dungourney. Credit: Irish Distillers.

Spirits and wines producer Irish Distillers has announced plans to make a €150m investment in its manufacturing sites in Ireland to meet rising demand.

The company intends to spend nearly €130m expanding and upgrading a distillery in Midleton and a maturation site in Dungourney, County Cork.

As part of the Dungourney site expansion, Irish Distillers plans to build eight new maturation warehouses with the capacity to hold a total of 134,400 casks.

New equipment will be installed at the Midleton Distillery to expand production capacity.

“This €150m investment in Midleton, Dungourney and Fox and Geese reflects the growing international success of Irish Distillers’ whiskey portfolio.”

The remaining €20m will be used at Irish Distillers’ Fox and Geese bottling site in Dublin, including extensions to the main operating bottling hall and storage warehouses.

Irish Distillers chairman and CEO Conor McQuaid said: “This €150m investment in Midleton, Dungourney and Fox and Geese reflects the growing international success of Irish Distillers’ whiskey portfolio.

“With a tradition dating back to 1780, we have been distilling in the Midleton Distillery since 1975 and we are delighted to confirm our commitment to this tradition, and at the same time continue to embrace progress, delivering new and innovative expressions of Irish whiskey.

“We look forward to building upon our success story by continuing to bring innovative Irish whiskeys to the market.”

Irish Distillers recently added a new mechanical vapour recompression evaporator to its Midleton Distillery in East Cork to further expand the distillery’s capacity.

McQuaid further added: “This investment will help to allow this growth to continue for years to come. The company is proud to play its role in the Irish drinks industry, which is a hugely important part of the Irish economy.”