13 December 2025
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
Irish Distillers’ Midleton Distillery, a cornerstone of Irish whiskey production, has this month been awarded one of Europe’s most prestigious recognitions for workplace safety: the Healthy Workplaces Good Practice Award 2025 from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).
The award recognises the distillery’s pioneering use of artificial intelligence and robotics to significantly reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries in its barrel unloading operations.
The award-winning solution centres on a custom-designed autonomous mobile robot (AMR) equipped with an AI vision system. The system now handles the unloading of 60kg whiskey casks from large shipping containers, a task that previously posed substantial injury risks to operators due to heavy lifting, awkward postures and the confined working environment.
“This recognition reflects our ongoing commitment to the health and safety of our team,” said Jaime Jordan, General Manager of Midleton Distillery. “We’re proud to have developed a pioneering robotic solution that puts the safety of our people first, while respecting the craft and tradition at the heart of what we do. This project was a true team effort, both across Irish Distillers and in partnership with Pilz Ireland, and shows the positive impact purposeful innovation can have.”
Mark Cullen, Chief Executive Officer of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), praised the project as a model for other workplaces. “Midleton Distillery has demonstrated exemplary leadership in workplace safety and health through this innovative solution. It clearly demonstrates how carefully applied technology can reduce risk, while ensuring workers remain engaged and central to the process. It’s a best-practice example of how industry can tackle complex safety challenges while prioritising worker safety.”
William Cockburn, Executive Director of EU-OSHA, said, “I warmly congratulate Midleton Distillery on this well-deserved award. Midleton Distillery’s achievement is an outstanding example of how digital innovation can be used to protect workers. Their AI-enabled robotics solution shows that when technology is designed with workers at the centre, it can eliminate risks and transform demanding tasks into safer, healthier work. This is exactly the kind of forward-looking leadership our Good Practice Awards are designed to recognise.”
Developed in close collaboration with automation experts at Pilz Ireland and with full involvement of the distillery’s health and safety, engineering, and operations teams – including the very operators who would use the system – the robotic solution was conceived, built, tested, and deployed over a three-year period and has delivered a 100% reduction in manual handling incidents related to barrel unloading.
Mark Cullen added, “Too often, workplace health and safety is seen as a regulatory burden or cost overhead. Midleton Distillery has clearly demonstrated that it is in fact a strategic investment. By proactively addressing safety risks, they’ve not only protected their workforce but have also achieved tangible gains in efficiency. It’s a powerful reminder that safe workplaces are productive workplaces.”
About Irish Distillers
Irish Distillers, a Pernod Ricard company, is a producer of some of the world’s most well-known and successful Irish whiskeys and Ireland’s leading supplier of spirits. Led by Jameson, our brands are driving the success of Irish whiskey globally. Jameson, crafted for smoothness at the Midleton Distillery, is the world’s bestselling Irish whiskey, a top 3 international whiskey brand and a top 10 international spirits brand (IWSR Report 2024). Our Midleton Distillery whiskeys are exported to 130+ markets around the world.
Irish Distillers was formed in 1966, when a merger took place between John Power & Son, John Jameson & Son, and Cork Distilleries Company. In 1988 Irish Distillers joined Pernod Ricard, gaining access to unprecedented levels of investment and an extensive global distribution network.
In 2025, Midleton Distillery was named ‘Most Awarded International Distillery’ at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and celebrates 200 years of distilling excellence. We employ over 800 people across our operations in Cork, Dublin and Northern Ireland.
About Pernod Ricard
Pernod Ricard is a worldwide leader in the spirits and champagne industry, blending traditional craftsmanship, state-of-the-art brand development, and global distribution technologies. Our prestigious portfolio of premium to luxury brands includes Absolut vodka, Ricard pastis, Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, and The Glenlivet Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Martell cognac, Havana Club rum, Beefeater gin, Malibu liqueur and Mumm and Perrier-Jouët champagnes.
Our mission is to ensure the long-term growth of our brands with full respect for people and the environment, while empowering our employees around the world to be ambassadors of our purposeful, inclusive and responsible culture of authentic conviviality. Pernod Ricard’s consolidated sales amounted to € 10,959 million in fiscal year FY25.
Pernod Ricard is listed on Euronext (Ticker: RI; ISIN Code: FR0000120693) and is part of the CAC 40 and Eurostoxx 50 indices.