Manufacturing Material Handling System:
Integration, Equipment, and Installation
Cooperage and Barrel-Making
Pictured: Cooperage, or barrel making, manufacturing material handling system installation (Photo Credit: Kevin Jackson / SilMan Industries)
The SilMan Material Handling team has a unique specialization providing material handling system integration, equipment, and installation for market-leading cooperage and barrel producers – such as Brown Forman, McGinnis Wood Products, and Speyside – at multiple facilities across the Southeastern United States.
CLIENTS
Brown-Forman. Alabama
East Bernstadt Cooperage. Kentucky
McGinnis Wood Products. Missouri
Speyside Bourbon Cooperage. Ohio, Virginia.
INDUSTRY
Barrel Manufacturing
PROJECT SCOPE
System Design and Engineering, Millwright/Mechanical and Electrical Installation, Controls, Project Management
Connectivity and Flow
Manufacturing Material Handling System Unites Elements of Production
The SilMan system integration team provides interconnectivity throughout the cooperage manufacturing material handling system. These mechanical-electrical conveyance solutions harmonize the assorted specialized equipment that is employed in the barrel-making process to create a single flow from aged staves to finished barrels.
Moreover, SilMan supports the individual handcrafters in the plant, providing processes such as head and ring return, which saves time, reduces floor traffic, and limits exposure to safety risks caused by lifting and intra-facility transport.
In this light, the systems integrator occupies a unique position as a partner to each contributor to the process – machine manufacturers, individual team members, and of course, the cooperage itself.
Cooperage Manufacturing Systems in the 21st Century
Barrels are near-sacred objects in the bourbon, whiskey, and wine world for their functionality and aging qualities. They’ve been crafted by American workers for centuries to hold flavor and preserve spirits and other quality fare.
However, the barrel-making industry hasn’t always kept pace with contemporary industrial standards for technology and efficiency. With the demand for high-quality barrels rising, forward-thinking coopers are taking steps to modernize and maximize their production capabilities.
The SilMan team has enjoyed the opportunity to support three such premier coopers – Brown-Forman (Jack Daniels), McGinnis Wood Products, and Speyside.
In each case, the company introduced creative system designs and innovative uses of traditional material handling equipment to solve complex manufacturing challenges.
Speak to a key team member on this project
Meet Tommy Ethridge.
For more information about this project or related topics, contact Tommy by email or call directly at 662.260.2544.
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Barrel Manufacturing Basics
For our readers who are not versed in cooperage manufacturing, here is a brief list highlighting a few of the elements of the process:
- Stave induction
- Jointing Staves (“dressing” each stave to match the radius of the barrel)
- Barrel Raising, apply head ring
- Steam and Windlass (form the barrel)
- “Roll-Out” machine (also known as “Buffalo” machine) smooths interior of the barrel and applies bilge rings
- Toasting and Charring the interior of barrels
- Head and Bilge Rings are returned to Barrel Raising and Windlass stations installation (Head and Bilge Rings are temporarily applied during manufacturing only)
- Barrel Head and Hoop application
- Bunge hole drilled
- Barrel cooling
- Transfer to inventory
East Bernstadt Cooperage (EBC), whose plant is featured below, has produced an entertaining video highlighting their mix of automation and handcrafted barrel-making system at their plant in East Bernstadt, Kentucky. SilMan provided all of the transport conveyors seen in this piece.
Simple Solutions for Complex Industrial Challenges
Project Highlights
SilMan’s work with cooperage facilities demonstrates the value of system integration mastery and custom-engineered equipment.
Every manufacturer faces its own set of production challenges, and the SilMan Handling Team has the resources to provide unique insights to solve them with straightforward, ROI justified solutions.
Let’s take a closer look at specific system solutions deployed to meet our client’s manufacturing material handling system needs.
Custom Approach & Expansion: Two New Plants for Speyside
Speyside Cooperage has been making “Acorn to Cask” barrels for bourbon since 1947. In 2015, the company embarked on building a new facility in Jackson, Ohio, to meet increased demand.
The site was an old cabinet shop close to lumber suppliers and featured a kiln perfect for drying oak staves. However, the retrofitted structure had uncommonly low ceiling heights, which posed a challenge for the design and installation of modern barrel-making systems that typically require considerable vertical space to operate.
Faced with these unusual space restrictions, SilMan set about designing a specialty Ring Delivery conveyance system that could function in the low deck areas, while supporting Speyside’s 100,000 barrel-a-year run cycle.
Even though the height challenges prevented the design of a pure-gravity fed system, SilMan was able to create an elevated equipment solution, engineering a gravity-based conveyor
Following the success of the Jackson plant, the companies joined forces to install a second system at the cooper’s Atkins, Virginia facility.
SilMan provided a windlass machine in addition to the stainless ring return system.
The project made statewide news for the workforce impact of the Speyside expansion, which included a stave mill in neighboring Washington county.
System Update
SilMan returned to Jackson, Ohio in 2024 to provide a new Motorized Drive Rollers (MDR) Bilge Return System. The scope of work included engineering, fabrication, mechanical and electrical installation, and demolition and modifications to the existing gravity system.
In his exuberance over the results, Darren Whitmer, President and General Manager of Speyside Bourbon Cooperage, sent a photo of the system and said, “You guys are doing some nice work for us!”
Updated Bilge Return (in white) at Speyside Bourbon Cooperage, Jackson, Ohio. (Photo: Speyside)
Tradition and Innovation: McGinnis Wood Products
McGinnis Wood Products is a relative newcomer to the centuries-old cooper trade.
Founded in 1968 as a stave mill, McGinnis began building their own barrels in 1987. Today the company ships their barrels around the globe from their facilities in Cuba, Missouri. They are a leading employer in their region and have even been celebrated by a local mural.
The continuing growth of the industry and their business and prompted the necessity of an updated manufacturing material handling system and the adoption of automation.
Their focus on traditional approach to business relationships was a perfect match for SilMan’s high-touch process. A new system was engineered and installed in 2019. The scope of work included conveyance, char line, bilge ring return, and system controls.
Due to unique circumstances in the McGinnis facility, the traditional overhead bilge return system required special attention. Typically, the equipment is gravity fed, rolling the rings back to the rollout machine.
In this case, SilMan innovated a solution where the rings lay on their side, transported by conveyors, and up-ended upon arrival.
This novel creation has the secondary effect of providing a quieter work environment by removing the regular cadence of sonic impacts of the metallic rings at the termination of the line.
Embracing Community & Growth: East Bernstadt Cooperage
CB Robinson took over the family wood mill operation, Robinson Stave, in 1958 and in 1993 expanded the business to include barrel-making: The East Bernstadt Cooperage. The company now operates plants in Tennessee and Georgia in addition to the original facility in East Bernstadt, Ky.
EBC operates a zero-waste operation, utilizing 100% of scrap wood, chips, and sawdust for other uses. The company has also committed itself to support sustainable logging practices.
This new automated system reflects EBC’s proactive approach to meet the demand for barrels due to the bourbon boom of the last decade.
SilMan provided engineering, equipment, and controls for a completely new system for EBC. In addition to providing the implementation of the Windlass and Ring Return Systems, the team provided the plant with 95% of the general conveyance and integration between process machinery.
Photo Gallery
Photo Credits: East Bernstadt Cooperage, Speyside Bourbon, and Kevin Jackson / Harrison Rupp (SilMan Industries).
Custom Engineered Windlass: System Installation for Brown Forman
When Brown-Forman broke ground in Trinity, Alabama for a new facility to manufacture the revered white oak barrels that hold Jack Daniel’s whiskey, it turned to SilMan to solve a dilemma other contractors passed on due to its complexity: how to design and install a custom Windlass press to support the 800 barrel-a-day production cycle.
In barrel making, a Windlass press automates the process of forming new barrels by fitting together the wood staves and removing a temporary assembly ring. SilMan’s goal was to design a precise Windlass machine based on Brown-Forman machinery in its historic Louisville, Kentucky plant but customized for the new Alabama site.
The company did just that, engineering and manufacturing a new system complete with automated process equipment, mechanical installation, and electrical controls – and providing it turnkey.
SilMan also designed and fabricated the facility’s custom Ring Delivery conveyance system, which featured overhead delivery of temporary rings via gravity conveyors. The system was built with heavy-duty components to minimize downtime and increase throughput. Specific features were also integrated to improve operator safety and ergonomics.
The plant was featured in a local news broadcast.
Scope of Work
Installation of Cooperage Manufacturing Material Handling System
While cooperage manufacturing operators employ a variety of operations and levels of manual touch versus automation, there is a fundamental level of equipment and mechanical-electrical services provided for most installations.
Mechanical Equipment
Conveyance Equipment, including Support, Motors, and Rails.
Typical conveyors deployed may include:
- Chain Driven Live Roller (CDLR) Conveyors
- Pneumatic Barrel Pushers
- Barrel Down-enders/Up-enders
- Narrow Strand Drag Chain Conveyors
- Pneumatic Barrel Pusher – Horizontal Barrel
- Gravity Rails – Horizontal Barrel
- Gravity CDLR Conveyor
Electrical and Controls
SilMan Controls Group will provide the system design engineering, PLC Programming, Motor Control Centers, field control devices, field wiring installation, and start-up support for the proposed Barrel Conveyors as follows:
- Field wiring
- Motor control centers
- UL listed panels
- Variable Frequency Drives
- PLC
- HMI
- Field Control Devices
Engineering and Services
- Electrical controls design
- PLC programming
- Mechanical and structural as needed
SilMan’s Specialty Trade Services and project management team are fully integrated with our design and engineering group, providing outstanding results in food and beverage manufacturing, warehouse solutions, and end-to-end innovative manufacturing solutions. And a broad range of industrial applications, including Equipment and Controls, Industrial Facilities, Building Systems, and Transportation Infrastructure.
About the Company
SilMan Industries (previously SilMan Construction) is based in San Leandro, Calif., with Engineering and Field Operations offices in Tupelo, Miss. The firm provides integrated turnkey solutions in the Industrial, Manufacturing, Distribution, and Public Works sectors.
Notably, in 2010 SilMan Industries was contracted to dismantle and remove the NUMMI assembly line in Fremont, Calif., transport the equipment, and reinstall the system in Blue Spring, Miss., establishing Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi (TMMMS). This high-visibility project ignited the company’s meteoric growth, laying the foundation for SilMan’s national service area.
For more information, please visit www.silmanindustries.com/about.
Frequently Asked Questions for Cooperage
What are the key benefits of using a material handling system in a cooperage?
A modern material handling system significantly boosts efficiency and safety in barrel production. Automating the movement of staves, hoops, and finished barrels reduces the need for heavy manual lifting, streamlines the production line, and minimizes the risk of worker injury. This also ensures a consistent and high-quality final product.
How does a Windlass press improve the barrel-making process?
The Windlass press automates the process of fitting staves together to form a new barrel. By applying precise force, it securely holds the staves while the temporary assembly rings are put in place. This allows for a significant increase in production and efficiency in the barrel-making process.
What types of challenges do custom material handling systems solve for cooperages?
Custom material handling systems go beyond standard automation to solve unique on-site challenges. For example, in SilMan's project for Speyside, we designed a specialized ring delivery system to function in a building with a very low ceiling. For McGinnis Wood Products, an innovative solution to transport barrel rings horizontally and then upend them upon arrival was used. This also created a quieter, safer work environment.
