Irish Distillers has plans to invest approximately €10.5m in Midleton Distillery to increase its production capacity.

The investment is expected to increase the production capacity of Irish Distillers' single pot still Irish whiskey by more than 30%.

The firm intends to install three new copper pot stills at Midleton Distillery facility. Each still will have a capacity of more than 75,000l and will be in operation by June. It is estimated that the construction phase will create 60 job opportunities.

Irish Distillers' chairman and chief executive officer Jean-Christophe Coutures said: “We are seeing growth accelerating across Jameson and the wider single pot still Irish whiskey range, such as Redbreast and Green Spot and we will continue to direct our focus for growth here.

"With our increased production capacity, we are confident that the category will hit ambitious targets set by the Irish Whiskey Association, increasing exports to 12 million cases by 2020 and 24 million cases by 2030.”

Since 2012, Irish Distillers has invested €120m in Midleton Distillery and €20m at its Fox and Geese bottling facility in Dublin. The firm is also currently investing €100m at its Dungourney maturation site.

The distiller proposed a €11m redevelopment project at the Old Jameson Distillery in Smithfield, Dublin, last August.

Image: Irish Distillers plans to boost production capacity with new investment. Photo: courtesy of Irish Distillers.