On Monday, December 17, the Industrial Development Board met. Once again the proposed barrel making facility, Pennington Stave and Cooperage, was the main topic of discussion.

“Since the last time we met things have come a long way with the information flow,” said Board Chairperson Bill Lytle.

The agenda indicated that Chad Pennington has accepted the terms offered by the Industrial Development Board. It also stated that since the board met for a special call meeting at the end of November, the board talked to Gordon Garrett of the Kentucky Small Business Development Center, who developed a business plan for Pennington Stave and Cooperage, and Norvin Raque, the equipment manufacturer.

Pennington was joined at the meeting by Doug Beard, a retired Global Strategic M & E Manager for Brown-Foreman Corporation. Beard is being retained in a consulting role by Pennington Stave and Cooperage to offer insight into the spirts and wine industry, including cooperate operations. He shared documents with the group, highlighted by state and region, the many thousands of craft distilleries and wine operations which require barrels for aging their products.

He also presented an article about a 130-million dollar distillery which will begin construction during 2019 in Lebanon, Kentucky for Diageo Corporation. This reflects the commitment that communities are making to meet the expanding needs for wine and spirts on a global basis. Beard indicated that this is a strong example of the need for additional stave and cooperate operations to meet the supply chain needs of a growing segment of American industry.

“The bottom line is they need more barrels. In my estimation, the barrel making operations that exist cannot keep up with the supply,” he said.

Although Pennington has agreed to the board’s terms, and they have accepted Penningtons’s offer, the deal will not be finalized until early this year. The reason for the delay was the lack of legal council.

“We need to seek legal council. Let me rephrase that. We need an attorney to help us get through the paperwork to make this agreement,” Lytle said.

“We need to keep an ongoing dialogue so that we can move forward. Dragging our feet is the last thing we want to do,” Pennington said.