Customer case study: Tomatin

Cleaner, greener whisky production

Nestled in an off-grid location in the Scottish Highlands, the Tomatin Distillery produces more than two million litres of whisky a year. Historically they have relied on Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) and coal to meet their substantial energy requirements. 

With the need to reduce their fuel costs and carbon footprint, Tomatin initially introduced a biomass boiler. However, the biomass system alone was unable to supply enough energy for the entire energy-intensive distilling process. Tomatin was left with an inefficient, expensive and polluting oil boiler to fulfil the shortfall.

After consulting with others in the industry, including former colleagues at the Knockdu distillery, Tomatin turned to Flogas to convert the oil boiler to LPG.

A bespoke solution with minimal disruption

Graham Eunson, General Manager at the Tomatin Distillery, says: “We needed a replacement for our oil boiler that would be cheaper to run, reduce our carbon footprint and be easier to maintain. The whisky industry is not keen on change, and we like to reduce risk as much as we can, so we spoke to colleagues in the industry who had already switched from oil to LPG. Flogas were highly recommended, so it was an easy decision for us to work with them.”

After a full assessment of Tomatin’s unique requirements, Flogas presented a completely managed LPG conversion process. This included the installation of 12 two-tonne tanks, along with the pipework and burner installations. The tanks were located behind the distillery buildings, out of site to the general public, and the whole LPG system was installed and up and running within a week, with minimum disruption to production.

Flogas Service Excellence

A lasting impact

Since installing the LPG system, Tomatin has seen financial savings of more than 15% on its fuel bills. Original estimates predicted a return on investment of between 12 months and two years, but the system is now expected to pay for itself in just one year. Tomatin is also on track to reduce its annual carbon emissions by 560 tonnes – a saving of almost 20%.