World's Oldest Distillery Set To Expand Workforce

Sir Reg said: "In these difficult times it is good to see one of our oldest companies weathering the current economic storm. The company has seen many a recession during its 400 year history and it has survived by ensuring it moves with the times, has a well trained workforce and provides a top quality end product.

"The proposed rise in the number of employees in the Distillery is welcome news to the local area, which has seen its share of redundancies over the past 18 months. I congratulate the Old Bushmills Distillery on its global success and its continued popularity."

Old Bushmills Distillery currently employs 108 employees, and this is expected to rise over the next five years as the distillery increases production from 450,000 cases today to over a million cases by 2012, and employs more people. This volume increase will also require a new maturation warehouse and further capital expenditure of circa £1.4million.