Wine Industry Report

The Cork Supply Group is expanding into Canada to service the growing Canadian wine industry.

“While we have been selling our entire line of products to the Canadian wine industry through Cork Supply USA for several years, Cork Supply Canada will give us the physical presence that the Canadian wine industry is asking us for,” said Jochen Michalski, president of the Cork Supply Group.

Cork Supply Canada will receive its inventory directly from the same top-quality suppliers as other Cork Supply Group members, however, sister-company Cork Supply USA will support Cork Supply Canada by supplying products that require additional processing or extremely short turnaround times. “Cork Supply USA will be here to support Cork Supply Canada with additional inventory and technical expertise, thereby providing Canadian customers with the same high level of service that customers in the USA enjoy from Cork Supply USA,” said Cork Supply USA’s CEO James Herwatt.

Cork Supply Canada hopes to begin taking direct orders by the beginning of 2007. In the meantime, Canadian customers can contact Cork Supply USA with their orders or questions.

Since 1981, the Cork Supply Group has provided wineries with the highest level of quality natural corks, synthetic corks, screwcaps, tin and polylam capsules, and oak products, with operations in Europe, North and South America, Australia, South Africa and now Canada. Besides owning state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Portugal, the Group also has five forest managers in Portugal who work directly with cork forest growers to ensure that quality is maintained literally from the forest to the bottle. A unique independent quality assurance laboratory, Global Quality Control, which maintains autonomous power to accept or reject all cork purchases made by the company based on strict quality standards, also supports the Cork Supply Group.