Our Services

In the simplest terms, there is nothing more important in the distilling industry than process safety compliance. Whether it is IEC61511 in the UK or the international standard NPFA30, legislation is comprehensive and safety requirements are clear and strictly enforced - as they should be.

Since its formation in 1994, Allen Associates has been providing industry-leading process safety solutions for distillers and plant operators in the UK and overseas. The company has provided compliance services for all types of site, from small craft gin distilleries to automated production, handling, and storage facilities.

Process safety is built into the fabric of every project undertaken by the Allen Associates team. Nothing is ever left to chance and no compromises are ever made.

Services

Services provided by Allen Associates’ qualified and experienced compliance team include:

• Development of Process and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs).
• Emergency relief vent sizing assessments.
• Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres (DSEAR) hazardous area classification and risk analysis.
• Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) studies.
• Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) and Safety Integrity Level (SIL) assessments.

Support throughout the cycle

To understand what might go wrong you first need to understand how things work. Using its unrivalled design experience in distilled spirits, Allen Associates can add further value to the safety services it offers by developing them into practical solutions to effectively manage risks on site.

Support can be provided at all stages of the process safety implementation cycle to ensure the systems you install are robust and compliant with all relevant regulations:

Help to get you started

To help kick start your project Allen Associated offers a FOC consultation to discuss process safety compliance requirements and a plan to take things forward. Depending on the site size and location the team can also carry out a FOC high level site audit to help prepare a bespoke service package to suit your requirements.

Our process safety expertise has been used across the industry by the majority of distilled spirit businesses including:

• Bacardi
• Beam Suntory
• Brown-Forman
• Campari
• Diageo
• Distell
• Edrington
• Glenmorangie
• William Grant & Sons

Enhancing an existing distillery or creating a new facility from scratch is a detailed and complex process. It requires a combination of engineering expertise, innovation and the correct combination of systems to create a unique solution for each client.

Allen Associates understands this. The company does not believe in an off-the-shelf approach, but rather works closely with the client to develop a bespoke offer that will meet the distillery’s exact process plant requirements in the most cost efficient way, whether it’s a small CIP system or full distillery project.

Every product is unique and that requires a unique process and team to create it. Over the past three decades Allen Associates’ team of professional chemical engineers has worked with a select group of preferred suppliers to deliver over 100 bespoke industry compliant projects for distillers across the UK and overseas.

Systems and Services

From plant improvements and upgrades to completely new facilities, the Allen Associates team has the experience and technology to provide a specialist packaged system for each client.

• Complete distillery & vat room packages
• Mash house and fermentation systems (i-mash™)
• Distillation systems
• Yeast systems Cask filling and disgorging systems (i-cask™)
• Tanker loading systems
• Energy recovery/efficiency systems
• Clean in Place (CIP) systems
• Process heating/cooling systems
• Product preparation & blending systems
• Bottling supply systems

Some example of package supply solutions are:

• Mallorca Gin - Distillery package supply
• Balvenie - Mash tun CIP system
• Highland park - CIP system
• Bowmore - low wines & feints pre-heating system
• John Dewar & Sons - various CIP systems and yeast plants
• Macdufff - New boiler house
• Glengoyne - Wash still CIP system
• Balblair - still house automation including various plant upgrades
• Glen Grant - Condenser heat recovery system
• Aberfeldy - low wines & feints pre-heating system

Allen Associates is the largest Scottish based chemical and process engineering design consultancy serving the Scotch whisky and related industries.

Comprising a team of highly qualified chemical engineers with a broad range of expertise and over 100 years combined experience, the consultancy provides clients with a range of professional engineering solutions from simple advice and process audits to full concept and commissioning design/support services.

Allen Associates predominantly works in the drinks, food and process industries, with clients ranging from small craft distillers to multi-national corporations. Although Scotland remains a key location, the consultancy has a global reputation and a growing list of international clients.

The consultancy has multiple industry recognised accreditations, including ISO9001 for process design, ensuring that every project, whether it is an initial audit or a full distillery design, receives the same professional, market leading approach and attention to detail.

Our Services

From start to finish, and everything in between, the Allen Associates team has the expertise and experience to handle every aspect of your project.

Feasibility stage:

• Concept design & feasibility studies
• Process flow diagrams (PFDs)
• Initial 2D and 3D plant layouts
• Energy and mass balances
• Site master planning
• Evaluation of alternative designs
• Conducting trials
• Process modelling
• Preparation of cost estimates
• Calculations of project savings, pay-back and KPI impact
• Preparation of design reports
• Preliminary risk and SHE assessments

Detailed engineering:

• Piping & instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs)
• Equipment design, specification and selection
• Functional design specifications (FDS)
• 3D process plant and pipework layout modelling
• Hydraulic and thermodynamic calculations
• Design QA and technical sign off
• Pinch technology
• Pressure systems
• System design engineering
• Hygienic design engineering
• Utilities design
• Heat recovery system design
• Cleaning in Place (CIP) design
• Process safety – HAZOP, LOPA, DSEAR
• Working in a design team – client, architect, structural, QS, etc

Project engineering & implementation:

• QS Services for process costs – control, budgeting, planning & reporting
• Preparation of tenders and bid analysis
• Project planning Liaising with contractors
• Site installation support & guidance
• Handling technical queries (TQs)
• Plant testing & commissioning
• Start-up support
• Operator training
• Handover documentation

Capex Management

Allen associates is well aware that engineering and management time is a premium, and as such has looked at ways to free up clients’ valuable internal resources. The consultancy has worked with a number of clients to manage and deliver all the capex projects for a site over a year including the preparation of the specific capex approval documentation.

Since launching in 1994 Allen Associates has undertaken over 1,000 distilled spirit design projects across the UK and overseas. In addition the team has worked with clients in the food and soft drinks industries, water industry, fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals.