MGP Ingredients Announces Lawrenceburg Expansion

By Mike Perleberg A newly announced expansion at the MGP Ingredients Distillery in Lawrenceburg will double the facility's warehouse capacity. Photo courtesy MGP Ingredients. (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - MGP Ingredients, the owner of the Lawrenceburg Distillery, is pouring money into a major expansion in the Spirit City. The company announced Wednesday that it will invest $16.4 million to expand warehouse capacity. A new warehouse will be built on a 20-acre plot next door to the distillery, doubling current barrel storage capacity. MGPI says it will also refurbish existing warehouse buildings. The first new warehouses are already under construction and should be completed by the end of this year. MGP President and CEO Gus Griffin says the warehouses in Lawrenceburg are needed to support rapid growth and help support MGP’s own brand development efforts. “This investment is consistent with the ‘invest-for-growth’ initiative of our five-year strategic plan,” said Gus Griffin, president and CEO of MGP.  “Increased capacity will help us better support the rapid growth of the whiskey category, as well as support our own brand development efforts." Griffin added that American whiskey is in the early stages of a long term growth trend. He said MGP is in a unique position to benefit because of its strong reputation for quality and innovation, and the distillery’s production capacity. The company’s announcement of the expansion did not include a mention of what the expansion might mean for employment in Lawrenceburg. The expansion is the first to be announced since MGP Ingredients, based in Atchison, Kansas, purchased the Lawrenceburg Distillery in 2011. The  168-year-old, 50-acre facility was bought from Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana for $11 million. RELATED STORIES: MGP Team Returning To Bourbon Barrel Relay Championship MGP’s $23K Contribution Will Help United Way Services 2014 - Distillery’s Products In Demand 2013 - MGP Adds New Varieties To L’burg Production 2011 - L’burg Distillery Sale Completed