Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Independent Stave Opens Its Second Kentucky Stave Mill



Independent Stave Company has opened its second Kentucky Stave Mill, Benton Wood Products in Marshall County, another investment in Kentucky spurred by the growing American whiskey industry.

Independent Stave is the leading producer of oak barrels for whiskey maturation. The stave mill is an intermediate step in barrel production, taking oak logs from the forest and rough-cutting them into staves and head pieces. The rough staves and head pieces are then shipped to one of the company's two cooperages for seasoning, finishing, and assembly into 53-gallon whiskey barrels.

The new state-of-the-art mill is on 48 acres strategically located near high quality white oak forests in Western Kentucky, just west of Kentucky Lake.

Independent Stave's other Kentucky Stave Mill is Morehead Wood Products in Rowan County, in Eastern Kentucky, which opened in September of 2015. The company's Kentucky cooperage is in Lebanon, in Marion County. Its other cooperage is in Lebanon, Missouri, where the company is based.

Independent Stave has seven stave mills, one in France and six in the United States. They also make wine barrels.

“Benton Wood Products was strategically built in bourbon country with access to premium American oak,” said Brad Boswell, Chief Executive Officer of Independent Stave. “We firmly support the continued growth of Kentucky’s bourbon industry and the wine and spirits sector in general. We remain committed to providing our customers with a wide range of high quality, readily-available barrels and oak products.”

Justin Nichols, a 20-year veteran of the company, will manage the new mill.

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