Change of focus has helped distillery survive

Bob Russell, co-founder of the Copper Rivet distillery, said the company would have had to close had it not been able to produce hand sanitiser.

“It’s a challenge because it’s a huge disruption to our normal business,” he said.

“That is where the government’s furlough scheme has been really generous for small businesses like ours.

“Our sales to the like of pubs, clubs, restaurants and bars came to a grinding halt.”

He has been forced to close the coffee shop and restaurant side of the business with 15 staff on furlough.

Mr Russell said had they not made their own raw alcohol on site to make sanitiser and were reliant on importing it for their other products, the business would have closed.

It has even employed a new distiller to increase production from one shift a day to three shifts 24 hours a day for five days per week.

The company is still producing gin, which Mr Russell says is the “mainstay of the business” but had been struggling to sell to clients in the hospitality trade.

“It’s a two-edged sword,” he added.

“On one side we’ve furloughed staff and on the other we’re very busy. We’re lucky.”

The business had been planning to launch a new whisky in June but has been pushed back indefinitely due to the pandemic.

“It’s matured and is ready and is a beautiful product and we would love to be able to sell it,” Mr Russell said.

“But we can’t sell it because we’re not able to retail and wholesale because our customer base is closed.”

Bob Russell