SILVA USA TAKING LENGTHS TO SAVE THE CORK

M.A. Silva Corks USA plans to construct a ground breaking $4 million-plus cork processing facility outside of Santa Rosa. The 30,400 square foot processing plants will be located in Westwind Business Park near Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport. The plant is expected to be ready by November with 50% more workspace, a linear workflow, air and water purification systems and 2 ½ times more space in the lab for visiting winemakers. The company chose to build instead of rent so they may achieve optimal environmental conditions for production and will not have the problem of not knowing “the evil already there,” said Neil Foster, co-owner and managing director of the cork distributor to The North Bay Business Journal. The building is a part of an industry-wide effort to end cork-taint and therefore halt corks’ sometimes negative reputation in the industry.