A major wine packaging and barrel supplier is advancing its staged expansion in a Solano County warehouse even as some in the wine industry move to scale back inventory amid sagging sales.
Other producers in the region are demanding more frequent deliveries to boost bottling, pointing to some of the prevailing — and sometimes conflicting — trends in the wine business at the moment.
The North American arm of Portuguese company Harv 81 Group is about halfway through the three-year expansion and streamlining plan at the at 531 Stone Road warehouse in Benicia, according to Peter Hladun, general manager of local operations.
The parent group encompasses three companies. Cork Supply has natural and agglomerate/technical cork production plants in Portugal and finishing facilities in Benicia and certain wine regions globally. The Tonnellerie Ô cooperage in Benicia makes barrels and oak alternatives. Studio Labels in Australia is a print converter. Cork Supply also distributes bottleneck capsules from Spain’s Rivercap.
“It really allowed us to stretch our wings in terms of being able to add additional capacity, but then also optimize the flow in which goods moved through our warehouse,”
Peter Hladun, General Manager of Local Operations
The U.S. operation has been at 531 Stone since 2009. Early last year after a neighboring tenant moved, it took over that lease for 50,000 square feet. All receiving and shipping operations as well as dry goods inventory were moved to the new space. This freed up space in the original warehouse to optimize cork and barrel production layouts.