Hiram Walker Plant Hits 5 Million Mark

The Hiram Walker plant in Fort Smith has gone from bottling 1.5 million cases of liquor per year when it opened in 1980 to 5 million now. That includes more than 2 million cases of Kahlua, the world’s second-most popular liqueur and No. 1 brand imported into the United States. (The average case contains 12 750-mililiter bottles.)

The processing, bottling and distribution plant in Fort Smith imports the coffee-flavored Kahlua concentrate from the Hiram Walker plant in Zadatecas, Mexico. Water, sugar and other ingredients are added before it is bottled and shipped.

The plant in Mexico supplies Kahlua to that country. The rest of the Kahlua sold on planet Earth is bottled in Fort Smith.

“The key ingredients that make Kahlua what it is is Mexican coffee beans and alcohol,” said Brian Hastings, manager of the Hiram Walker plant in Fort Smith. “It’s Mexican heritage.”

Arabic coffee beans are roasted and combined with “cane spirit” to make Kahlua, according to Allied Domecq, a British conglomerate that owns Windsor, Ontario-based Hiram Walker.

Allied Domecq sold 36 million cases of spirits and wine last year and had a total of $2.4 billion in liquor sales. Allied Domecq makes several different liquors, including Canadian Club and Maker’s Mark whiskey, Ballantine’s scotch and Beefeater gin.

Kahlua is a primary ingredient in drinks such as a Black Russian, where it is usually mixed with vodka.

Hastings said it makes more sense to bottle the popular liqueur in Fort Smith than in Mexico.

“It has a lot to do with transportation and logistics,” he said. “We bottle it more close to the market.”

According to Allied Domecq, two-thirds of all Kahlua is consumed in the United States.

Hastings said bulk products like concentrate and sugar are imported to Fort Smith via rail car. The finished product is shipped out via truck and overseas by ship.

The Fort Smith plant doesn’t distill alcohol. That’s done at other Hiram Walker plants. By shipping concentrate, the label on Kahlua, for instance, can still read “made in Mexico” even though water and sugar are added and it’s bottled in Fort Smith.

“All raw materials and supplies used to produce Kahlua originate in Mexico,” Allied Domecq says on its Web site. “Bottling takes place in Fort Smith, Ark.”

The Fort Smith plant serves as an importer and shipper for about 2 million cases of Allied Domecq spirits that were bottled in other countries.

In addition to Kahlua, the Hiram Walker plant bottles 700,000 cases of Sauza Tequila per year and 50,000 cases of Old Smuggler Scotch. In both instances, the Fort Smith facility adds only water to the concentrate before bottling.

“That cuts down on shipping,” Hastings said. “That way, you’re not shipping water.”

The Fort Smith plant was constructed to replace an antiquated Hiram Walker plant in Illinois that was built in 1934. The Fort Smith plant initially bottled only liqueurs and cordials before adding whiskey and other liquors to the product line.

It has four buildings (three of them are each about the size of a Wal-Mart Supercenter) on 37 acres of land. The plant has 225 employees.

Hastings said the company is very happy with the business climate in Fort Smith.

“It’s a great work force and business-friendly climate here,” he said.