This 7-hectare new distillery once belonged to InchDairnie Estate, near Kinglassie in Fife. InchDairnie means "a hidden place near a water source". Inch is a piece of low-lying land near a river, lake or sea, and Dairnie means secret, hidden or concealed place. With a £1.6 million loan from the Scottish Government and a £240,000 grant from Scottish Enterprise, plus Danish private equity investment and strategic cooperation with MacDuff International, the distillery broke ground in July 2014 and officially began production in December 2015. The distillery's appearance is extremely modern: a huge, angular gray building, illuminated at one end by a "glass curtain wall". Adjacent to it is an office/reception building, partially clad in gray stone and wood. There are currently 2 large gray warehouses on site, with space to build 6 more identical warehouses. The project is the brainchild of Ian Palmer, managing director and founder of parent company John Fergus & Co. (established 2011). Ian's career began at Invergordon Distillery as a process engineer, later serving as Distillery Manager for Whyte & Mackay, Operations Director for JBB and Kyndal International, and Managing Director of Glen Turner Company Ltd. At Glen Turner, he was responsible for the construction of Starlaw Distillery (see relevant entry). Ian designed a highly innovative production system for InchDairnie, aimed at exploring and enhancing flavor while reducing waste and saving energy. The malt is ground into flour in a hammer mill and processed in 22 mash conversion vessels with filter plates, made in Belgium, to extract a very clear wort. Only Teaninich Distillery (see relevant entry) uses a similar system. The stills employ a complex "vapor recompression system", each still is equipped with 2 condensers, increasing the contact between the spirit and copper, and by recovering heat to drive the stills, saving 40%-50% of energy costs. By using different yeasts, the distillery is producing two different core products: InchDairnie will be bottled as the distillery's own single malt whisky, while Strathenry will be used for exchange with other distilleries, particularly for Lauder's, Islay Mist, Grand McNish – all owned by the distillery's strategic partner MacDuff International. MacDuff will keep part of the inventory at the distillery and build blending facilities on site. In its first year, InchDairnie Distillery aims to produce 2 million liters of pure alcohol, with the possibility of doubling capacity. The distillery will store 44,000 casks in 2 warehouses, with plans to increase to 7 warehouses.