Displaying items tagged: Vander Mill LLC

SPRING LAKE — Vander Mill LLC is closing its original Spring Lake facility to focus on its Grand Rapids hard cider production facility and restaurant in what co-founder Paul Vander Heide calls the latest in ongoing changes for the business.

Dennis Grumm has heard these rumblings before. As the founder, CEO and lead engineer for Grand Rapids-based Oktober Design LLC, which sells can seamers to seal lids on cans so breweries can conduct small-scale or to-go canning, he’s used to hearing murmurs that the industry’s staple container might be in short supply.

While craft beverage industry insiders expect more deals ahead nationally in 2020, the market in Michigan may be poised to level off. 

Alcoholic beverage producers that want to market their products beyond their home markets are facing many tough realities as competition continues to ratchet up and as consumers’ preferences shift in often unexpected ways (see: hard seltzer). For its part, regional cider maker Vander Mill LLC continues to expand its markets geographically as it makes sense and with the right wholesale partners, said co-founder Paul Vander Heide. To start the new year, the company is focused on commissioning a new large-scale apple press with the aim of improving product quality and margin.

As Pabst Brewing Co. broadens its reach beyond the iconic Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, the global drinks company is increasingly leveraging its relationship with New Holland Brewing Co. to break into new categories.

GRAND RAPIDS — Conklin-based Pux Cider hopes to open its first tasting room in early 2020 in Grand Rapids’ Midtown neighborhood. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Tensions between Michigan craft beverage producers and the state regulatory agency appear to be ratcheting up with the filing of a new federal lawsuit, MiBiz has learned. 

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for July 23, 2018.

A struggle to find dedicated staff willing to work for minimum wage has one Grand Rapids pizza shop shifting to a focus on technology. 

Vander Heide, the current president of the Michigan Cider Association, said the cider industry fought hard to be included specifically in the new law’s language outlining the council’s governing board.

An update to Michigan law is bringing a more equitable approach to how license fees from craft beverage producers are spent. 

Vander Mill owner Paul Vander Heide has helped put Michigan cider on the map. The growing Grand Rapids-based hard cider producer makes more than 250,000 gallons a year and sells its portfolio of brands in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. With his election as president of the United States Association of Cider Makers during CiderCon this month, Vander Heide wants to help professionalize and grow the overall opportunity for the diverse cider industry. Over a couple rounds of ciders at Vander Mill’s Grand Rapids taproom, he spoke with MiBiz about the next steps he would like to see for his company, the USACM and the industry as a whole.

Running any business is challenging, but when you add the dynamics of family ownership into the mix, it creates an entirely different set of hurdles.

LANSING — A series of bills could open the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council to members from the distilling, craft beer and other alcoholic beverage segments.

Vander Mill LLC and Long Road Distillers LLC have struck a partnership to further capitalize on the growing market for craft spirits.

Changes to the federal tax code implemented at the beginning of the year could alleviate burdensome financial and bureaucratic rules for many craft beverage makers. 

Anew ruling aimed at giving more salaried workers access to overtime pay may have negative consequences for West Michigan companies and could ultimately end up hurting workers, despite the best of intentions. 

As the craft beverage industry matures, it’s attracted new entrants who may be more concerned with making a quick profit than with the quality of the liquid. 

After more than a year of construction, Vander Mill LLC will open its new taproom, restaurant and hard cider production facility in Grand Rapids on Monday.

While new bills seek to grow the membership of an agriculture industry council funded by licensing fees from Michigan alcoholic beverage makers, the changes still exclude one key sector and its supply chain from the group