Cutting edge robot technology is being used to enhance the ancient tradition of whisky barrel cooperage. The hi-tech systems have been installed at a new custom-designed £10m cooperage near Alloa in Clackmannanshire. Diageo said the systems at their Cambus plant had never been used in a cooperage and would improve the working lives of the coopers.

The project comes after Diageo cut 900 jobs at its Kilmarnock and Glasgow sites in 2009. The losses were offset by the creation of about 400 posts at a packaging plant at Leven in Fife. The 40 coopers at the new plant will craft a quarter of a million casks a year.