O.Z. Tyler completes clean-up, implements technology to prevent further rickhouse collapses

September 12, 2019 | 3:25 am

Updated September 12, 2019 | 6:40 am

After the June 17 collapse of a part of a bourbon rickhouse, O.Z. Tyler will implement a high-tech app-based system to monitor the storage facilities. O.Z. Tyler is the first distillery in the entire country to use this high-level technology to keep their rickhouses secure. | Photo by AP Imagery

O.Z. Tyler Distillery has completed the clean-up process after a storm triggered a partial collapse of Rickhouse H, located on the distillery’s Daviess County property. Officials with O.Z. Tyler said the last of the 19,000 bourbon barrels were safely removed from the area on Sept. 6.

A controlled deconstruction plan was implemented to bring down the entire, six-story rickhouse — a historical first in the distillery industry — due to the partial collapse that took place on June 17. Approximately 4,000 barrels were brought down during the partial collapse, most of them suffering little-to-no damage, and the remaining 15,000 barrels were slowly brought down during the deconstruction process by Evansville-based demolition contractor Klenck.

The deconstruction plan was designed by distillery leaders, along with Environmental Protection Agency officials, Daviess County Fire Department and Daviess County Emergency Management Agency.

The deconstruction process was expected to take between two and three months and was completed right in the middle of that estimate, at two-and-a-half months.

O.Z. Tyler Master Distiller Jacob Call said all of the removed bourbon barrels are being stored on-site in other warehouses. Call previously told Owensboro Times that he wasn’t sure what the distillery would do about replacing Rickhouse H, but that they certainly needed the storage space it provided.

As for the clean-up, Call said the organized, efficient method of clean-up was due to the great teams they had in place.

“I guess you can say emergencies bring out the best in us,” he said.

As O.Z. Tyler continues expanding its bourbon output, the addition of seven new rickhouses, currently being built in Ohio County, means the distillery will soon have more room for bourbon barrel storage.

In fact, Call said the first of the seven new rickhouses would be completed this week.

“We will be bringing another warehouse on-line every two months after that,” he said.

While the clean-up at Rickhouse H went relatively smooth, all things considered, Call said O.Z. Tyler has been working to prevent another rickhouse collapse in the future. The distillery will be implementing a high-tech app-based system to monitor the rickhouses on-site, and Call said O.Z. Tyler is the first distillery in the entire country to use this high-level technology to keep their rickhouses secure.

“We are constantly monitoring our warehouses and have teamed up with StructuRight Structural Health Monitoring Systems to use real-time technology to monitor our rickhouses around the clock,” he said.

Through an app-based system created by the Louisville-based tech company, the staff at O.Z. Tyler can monitor distance, angle, vibration, temperature and humidity in all of the rickhouses.

“All data, including any change notifications, is transmitted to a cell phone via the app, and it will include backup capabilities as well,” Call said. “We are the first distillery in the United States to employ such a high-tech system.”

September 12, 2019 | 3:25 am

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