Issued by DKC - De Kock Communications
Andy Watts Business Man
Andy Watts, Executive Mayor
of Drakenstein Municipality Councillor Gesie van Deventer, Policeman of the
Year Piet Koordom, and Albertus Buckle, chairman of the Wellington Chamber of
Commerce
Making history yet again, Andy Watts, master distiller
and a resident of Wellington, has been named Wellington’s Business Man of the
Year, only two weeks after receiving the town’s recognition and being named
Wellingtonian of the Year. It is the first time in the 30-year history of the
two awards that the same person has received both in the same year.
Watts received the award from the Wellington Business
Chamber who recognises and rewards individuals who have made a significant
contribution to the Wellington business community.
As master distiller of the foremost whisky distillery in
Africa, Watts has pioneered whisky-making in this country and in doing so has
promoted the town throughout the world with the many awards and accolades the
distillery and the whiskies made there (Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky and Three
Ships) have garnered over the years.
“When I came
to Wellington as a 21-year-old, I couldn’t have dreamt that I would make this
town my home and build a career here. But for the past 30 years I have been
fortunate to play a part in promoting the prosperity of the town. It certainly
isn’t the same town nor is the distillery the same as it was back then. Since
1994 I have shared the vision of architect Chris de Hart to turn the distillery
into the beautiful landmark it is today. We have also introduced technology
that allows us to compete against the very best in the world and increased our
capacity to meet the growing demand for the whiskies we produce.
“Our
successes certainly didn’t come easily or without challenges. But we never
compromised on our vision for the distillery nor the important role it plays in
the town and to its people. Being involved in and marketing our town through
our whisky is something I do with pride.”
Andy Watts Business Man
Tommie Moolman (Businessman
of the Year 2013), Andy Watts and Dawie Roodt, the Efficient Group
Born in Barnsley
in England, Watts came to South Africa as a professional cricketer in 1982 and
while playing cricket for Boland and coaching the Hugenote Primary and High
School teams, he met his future wife and decided to make Wellington his home.
He not only had to get to know a new country and culture but quickly had to
learn to speak Afrikaans. He found a position at the then Stellenbosch Farmers’
Winery in Paarl and in 1991 was transferred to The James Sedgwick Distillery as
manager. An intensive sixth-month training programme at Morrison Bowmore
Distillers in Scotland led to Watts returning to South Africa and becoming
the country’s first master distiller.
