John Wilson, SNP MSP for Central Scotland, has today (Tuesday) welcomed the opening of the Angus Dundee Distillers modernised facility in Coatbridge which has been brought back to life as a result of investment by the company and a £460,000 Regional Selective Assistance Grant from Scottish Enterprise.
Angus Dundee supplies four per cent of the world’s Scotch whisky and blended and single malts are sent to 70 countries across the world from the Coatbridge site, contributing to the 23 per cent growth in whisky exports from Scotland last year.
Speaking after attending the opening, Mr Wilson said:
“This is great news for North Lanarkshire and great news for Scotland’s booming Scotch whisky industry which contributed a record breaking £4.23 billion pounds to the Scottish economy last year.
“Seeing this bottling hall in full flow underlines how this filters down to local economies, creating jobs in the process.
“The industry makes a huge contribution to Scotland’s economy; it directly employs ten thousand people and indirectly supports another 35,000 jobs as well as creating £1.1 billion of demand for Scottish suppliers.”
Julie McAnulty, SNP Council candidate for Coatbridge North and Glenboig, added:
“These new jobs will be great for Coatbridge and for North Lanarkshire.
“Together, at national and local level, the SNP will be working hard to invigorate the economy, create jobs and make communities up and down the country better.”