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34 WINES&VINES October 2018 BOTTLES &LABELS Winery Planning and Design, Edition 17 Dr. Bruce Zoecklein, Editor This electronic publication offers more than 1,500 pages of planning and design features of interest to both wine and cider producers. Topics Include: • Business planning • Construction and production economics • Winery design considerations • Sustainable designs and practices • Energy and water use • Equipment • Refrigeration • Caves and gravity flow • Wastewater management • Sanitation, winery labs, HACCP planning To review a Table of Contents, visit vtwines.info NEW EDITION Priced at $198 plus shipping. Order at practicalwinery.com, click on Bookshelf. wineries can do to help organize and align their purchasing decisions. Ehrlich said the consolidation, not just among vendors but among wine producers as well, is making purchasing competition fiercer; it's harder for medium and small wineries not under a larger brand name to bargain and make profitable purchasing decisions. The panel of experts included Rich Bouwer, COO of Free Flow Wines, who, before this role, worked as the Pacific region's general manager for glass company Saxco International, where he was responsible for wine and beer packag- ing from 2006 to 2016. Before that, he man- aged supply chain, purchasing and operations at Beringer Wine Estates and E. & J. Gallo Winery. He is, as Ehrlich stated in her introduc- tion, "an expert on wine glass." Bouwer presented an overview of the con- solidation of domestic glass bottle manufactur- ers over the past 38 years. In 1980, there were more than 30 suppliers distributing bottles out of 120 plants across the United States. Today, just three domestic glass bottle suppliers — O-I, Ardagh and Gallo Glass — own 37 of the remaining 43 plants in the U.S., controlling more than 90% of the glass containers sold in the country's market. When asked if this kind of consolidation makes it easier or harder for wineries to pur- chase supplies, Bouwer said that certain ele- ments are easier: It's easier to know who the suppliers are, where their plants are located, what products they supply and where their strengths lie as a business. Fellow panelist Pedro Fernandes, general manager for Amorim Cork America, who has more than 15 years of experience working in sales and business development for paper and forest products, spoke about his company's part in the consolidation of cork suppliers. Amorim is the world's largest cork company, producing 5.2 billion corks each year out of forests in Portugal. Fernandes said Amorim has been acquiring other cork production companies at a rate of two to three businesses a year. From his point of view, consolidation not only benefits his clients, but also provides better work- ing conditions for the farmers producing the product. "Because of the scale of our business, we can now put more research and efforts into the farmers and improve the quality and output of the forests themselves," Fernandes said. In effect, the small-business cork suppliers now have access to advanced resources they wouldn't otherwise have without the big-busi- ness consumption. But the potential down side of consolidation in supply chains is that the ability to negotiate on a personalized, customized level has be- come more difficult. Ehrlich's key takeaway message and advice is for wine industry profes- sionals to know their brand values and what that means in regard to specific needs from suppliers. Solidifying that list and being proac- tive, engaged and communicative about those values and needs with a specific point of con- tact within the supply company is the best way to ensure receiving the expected attention to detail and customer service. Consultant Lisa Ehrlich moderated a panel on how wineries can deal with consolidation among wine industry equipment and packaging vendors. CODY GEHRET YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP SINCE 1983! CONTACT US TODAY! 575 ird St. Bldg. A Napa CA 94559 707-255-6372 | napafermentation@aol.com www.napafermentation.com