Diageo Keg Plant Expansion, St James’s Gate

Few sites carry the history of St James's Gate. This is where Guinness began: in 1759 a 34-year-old Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on a small, disused Dublin brewery for £45 a year, and from these gates built the most famous stout in the world. More than 265 years later, Guinness is still brewed here, and the gate remains the home of the brand. Our team worked on the expansion of the Diageo keg plant, the engine room of the brewery, where kegs are washed, filled and dispatched to pubs across Ireland and around the world. The project extended the plant to increase its keg capacity, with new and upgraded keg washing and filling lines, extended process and building services (steam, clean-in-place, compressed air, water and electrical supplies) and reconfigured areas for keg handling, storage and dispatch. Acting as quantity surveyor, the team provided cost planning, tender documents and analysis, monthly valuations, change control and the final account. The works were phased around a live, round-the-clock production operation and carried out to the strict food-safety, hygiene and safety standards expected at one of the most famous breweries on earth, so that the Guinness kept flowing out of the gate.