Tanduay bringing back Bacolod distillery to its ‘glory days’

The Lucio Tan group’s liquor arm Tanduay Distillers plans to revive a large distillery in Bacolod under Asian Alcohol Corp. and begin biofuel production in this facility this year.

Asian Alcohol, which was mothballed eight years ago, has the second biggest distillery in the Philippines. Its plant houses alcohol aging and wastewater treatment facilities, which convert distillery waste into biogas energy for its power requirements. Before the suspension of its operations, it had a daily rated production capacity of 210,000 liters of ethyl alcohol.

“Kapitan (Lucio Tan Sr.) made a strategic move to take one step backward in the hope of moving forward, a strategy that teaches us how to realize our future by our sacrifices of today. [This] year, Asian Alcohol will begin its biofuel production. Like Absolut Distillers, it will blaze new paths and return to its old glory,” Tanduay president Lucio Tan Jr. said in a recent press statement.

Tan said Asian Alcohol aimed to replicate the success of Absolut Distillers Inc. in Batangas, which has earned more than P880 million from its bioethanol operations since 2015.

Absolut Distillers has also commissioned a six-effect evaporator as part of its improvement and wastewater treatment upgrade, Tan said. This 2019, a pot still distillery will be added to its operation, together with a small mill.

For Tanduay Distillers, Tan said the company was expected to sell 20 million cases this 2019, backed by a more aggressive marketing operations here and abroad.

“I cannot wait to find out how we will fare against the best of the best. Tanduay will grow its assets to compete and be even more relevant in the liquor industry,” he said.

Tan also encouraged his company executives to “go on offensive business mode” and advocate environmentally responsible technologies.

“Our thrust is to participate and develop clean and renewable energy projects for our sustainability … Reduce our carbon footprint to underscore our commitment to help mitigate the effects of climate change. I believe this is incumbent upon us as a responsible corporate entity, where we can invest in technologies that will unravel economic opportunities for the group and our employees,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tan also shared optimism on the group’s aviation service unit MacroAsia Corp.

“MacroAsia is going full blast with our thrust to address the future of water … Our chairman (Lucio Tan Sr.) has already been building dams to compliment the farmers with their harvest up north. We are now investing more on this valuable liquid,” he added.