Heaven Hill Moves Forward with Capital Projects

This week we’re sharing an update on the progress of some of the larger capital projects Heaven Hill has been working on. Our goal in sharing these updates is to illustrate Heaven Hill’s commitment to continuous improvement and growing the business even during unprecedented times such as these.

We are currently working to integrate Black Velvet into our bottling operations in Bardstown, Kentucky – a project that will ultimately lead to significant cost savings for the company. In order to make this happen, we have been working to install a new rail spur that will allow us to offload rail cars with Black Velvet product to be shipped to Bardstown via train. The Schenley property where the rail spur is being installed is located off of Louisville Road just outside of Bardstown, Kentucky. Black Velvet product will be loaded onto railcars in Lethbridge, Canada and shipped via train to the Schenley location in Bardstown where it will be picked up and transported to the bottling facility via truck​​.

This project was approved on January 10, 2020 and includes installation of 950 feet of track, four 80,000 gallon storage tanks (two tanks for Black Velvet product and two tanks for Canadian Blending Wine), two offloading pumps, a truck loading station with pump, and required containment and fire protection to ensure the process is completed safely. Much of this project has already been completed according to the schedule below:

• 1/22/2020: Site work and tank fabrication began
• 4/14/2020: Rail Installation completed
• 5/8/2020: Tank fabrication and placement on foundations completed

On-going work continues on the following:

• Mechanical installation
• Fire protection
• Electrical & Controls
• Loading station and off-loading stations

While this project was a large investment for the company, it is a great illustration of our commitment to continuous improvement. We expect to see significant cost savings and improved efficiency from this project due to two factors – Black Velvet product will now be shipped via train rather than truck as it was previously, and Black Velvet will now produce Canadian Blending Wine for Heaven Hill rather than sourcing from a third party company.

The estimated completion date for the Schenley Rail Spur Update was originally June 15, 2020. However, due to some weather impact, the ability of contractors to keep crews fully staffed amid COVID-19, and shipping delays for some electrical and control components, the completion date has shifted to July 10, 2020. We look forward to seeing the impact of this project upon completion in July.