At its meeting of 23rd July the Anstruther Rotary Club had the pleasure of welcoming Mr John Paterson, Site Director of DIAGEO's Leven packaging site, who spoke of the many facets of his business.

Mr. Paterson’s exceptionally interesting talk ranged widely over the many complex aspects of such a large international business – from the development and marketing of new brands and new market areas, to the mind-numbing numbers involved in the logistics needed to deliver the exact product requirements to customers - exactly on time. And all in a very competitive worldwide marketplace.

The Leven site manages the logistics to package and deliver 3,000 different product labels, using 24 bottling lines working a 5-shift pattern over the week. As well as all UK needs, around 180 countries around the world are supplied; the total output numbering some 90 million cases a year.

Diageo directly employs 4,000 people in Scotland, together with many more indirectly in suppliers and subcontractor companies. Mr. Paterson described the challenge of optimizing packaging capacity in a change that led to the closure of the Kilmarnock site and the spending of £95 million at Leven. He was at pains to emphasize that, whilst always a difficult thing to have to do, very good voluntary redundancy packages together with relocation support, meant that the change has been achieved and the upset minimized for employees.

In concluding his talk Mr. Paterson tempted the whisky lovers in the audience with a tantalizing vision of some of the company’s top-of-the-range luxury blends. These are built on the Johnnie Walker brand and clearly aimed at tapping into a developing and high- margin international market.  

Following many questions a vote of thanks was proposed by Charles Thrower