Simon Ballingall

Results-driven Production & Vatting Manager with extensive operational leadership and deep, established connections across the Scotch Whisky industry. Proven track record of managing multidisciplinary teams of up to 20 personnel across production, vatting, and warehousing operations while controlling daily, weekly, and monthly capacity planning, budgeting, and cross-departmental logistics. Demonstrated success in managing site-wide Health & Safety compliance at a lower-tier COMAH site, authoring robust departmental SOPs, and overseeing the construction and integration of five new whisky maturation warehouses.

Certified in HACCP Level 3 and a licensed Forklift Operator, with deep expertise in regulatory compliance, HMRC bonded warehouse operations, and leading annual ISO and Soil Association organic audits. Proficient in Microsoft Office (Advanced Excel, Word, Teams, Outlook, PowerPoint) for schedule optimisation, yield tracking, and operational analysis.

Vatting Operator at Douglas Laing & Co. (2026-01 – Present)

• Spirit Preparation & Bottling Line Feed: Specialise in blending, reducing, and preparing mature spirit to exact specifications for active bottling lines. Monitor vat levels and verify spirit availability in daily coordination with production teams to prevent line downtime.
• Bulk Handling & Tanker Logistics: Manage complex bulk spirit handling processes, including the safe filling, sealing, and transfer of Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs), as well as loading/unloading road tankers in full compliance with site safety protocols.
• Cask Operations & Traceability: Execute cask filling operations across various timber types (hogsheads, butts, barrels) with new make spirit. Maintain detailed records of cask weights, strengths, and ID numbers for total inventory traceability and wood turnaround.
• Bonded Warehouse & HMRC Compliance: Maintain HMRC bonded warehouse logs, duty-suspended stock records, and empty timber tracking sheets to ensure 100% regulatory compliance.
• Safety Culture & EHS: Champion site safety standards across vatting and spirit handling operations by leading regular risk assessments and encouraging proactive near-miss reporting.

Production Manager / Operations Manager at Campbell Meyer & Co. (2009-12 – 2025-12)

• Site Leadership & Strategy: Directed day-to-day site operations, managing full cross-departmental alignment to consistently hit production targets, yield optimisation goals, and delivery schedules.
• Production Planning & Execution: Authored and executed weekly, monthly, and annual production plans across production halls and vatting plants to maximise capacity and minimise line turnaround times.
• Vatting & Bulk Spirit Logistics: Oversaw vatting operations feeding active high-speed bottling lines and new fill programmes. Managed spirit process workflows for internal inventory, bulk tanker dispatches, and third-party contract filling requests.
• 3rd-Party Contract Bottling: Led client onboarding and operational execution for contract bottling customers, ensuring strict quality control, recipe compliance, and scheduled throughput.
• Audit Control & Bonded Operations: Led annual HMRC excise audits, ISO certification checks, and Soil Association Organic audits. Completed and submitted W1 bonded warehouse returns and year-end spirit reconciliations accurately.
• Supply Chain & Engineering Collaboration: Partnered with the Dry Goods Controller (DGC) and Shipping teams to streamline inbound/outbound logistics, material availability, and dock loading schedules. Partnered with engineering teams to oversee the installation, commissioning, and sign-off of new production lines.
• Team Leadership & Development: Directly line-managed 20 multidisciplinary staff across Production (11), Vatting (6), and Warehouse (3), driving performance, safety training, and skill development.
• Commercial & HSE Oversight: Controlled departmental operating budgets, contributed to annual customer demand forecasting, and resolved technical/commercial customer complaints. Upheld site-wide HSE policies in full compliance with HACCP Level 3, COSHH, and DSEAR regulations.

Inventory Controller at John G Russell Transport (1998-09 – 2009-08)

• Stock Control & Reconciliation: Oversee daily inventory logging and stock management across warehouse operations, executing regular cycle counts, investigating variances, and maintaining 100% stock accuracy.
• Compliance & Audit Readiness: Prepare accurate inventory documentation, movement reports, and audit trails to ensure compliance with internal standards and client SLA checks.
• Logistics & Transport Coordination: Partner closely with transport, warehousing, and dispatch teams to schedule loading times, manage goods received, and prevent supply chain bottlenecks.
• Data & Systems Management: Utilise advanced spreadsheets and internal warehouse management systems (WMS) for accurate data entry, stock tracking, and executive reporting.

Standard Grades / GCSEs – Merksworth High School (1996)