Isle of Arran Distillers are making two significant changes to their management team.
Former managing director Douglas Davidson will be appointed deputy chairman of the company from June 1.
Sales director Euan Mitchell has been appointed managing director and will be responsible for all day-to-day operations.
Douglas Davidson told the Banner: ‘These two appointments make sense for our business at this stage of our development. I will have a more direct and full-time focus on ensuring the funding is in place to take us where we want to go. In fact you will probably be seeing a bit more of me on the island in future.
‘The board has already shown its confidence with more than £750,000 spent on our warehousing and equipment in Lochranza last year. This will allow us to significantly increase our production over the next five years and beyond as we grow our sales in the many markets we now cover around the world.
‘We have a first-class team on Arran under the direction of Robin Bell in the visitor centre and new distiller James MacTaggart.
‘Euan Mitchell will make a top quality managing director and bring fresh ideas to his new role. He is well able to cope with the fast changing world of whisky which is enjoying a period of both turbulence and growth, especially in the emerging economies of India, China, Brazil and Russia.
‘These are exciting times in the world of whisky. Both these appointments should be seen as evidence of our confidence in the future of the distillery and our determination to become a serious player in the single malt whisky sector worldwide.’
Arran distillery will be launching its first 12-year-old Arran Malt in October. Since the distillery opened in 1996 the Arran Malt has become one of the world’s most popular whiskies.
Douglas Davidson said: ‘Our biggest selling point is that we are made on Arran and we must continue to build on that.’
