A welder puts the finishing touches on a Specific Mechanical Systems unit
VICTORIA – As craft brewers and distillers follow their journey to create their popular products, the pipeline at some point runs through Specific Mechanical Systems.
Specific Mechanical Systems has been providing handcrafted brewing and distilling systems for the craft beer and spirits industries, as well as supplying various industries with complex processing equipment, since 1984.
Reo Phillips is the General Manager of Specific Mechanical Systems
That was when founders Phil Zacharias and Bill Cummings, one a welder/fabricator and the other a machinist, began working with Spinnaker’s and Vancouver Island Brewery, then known as Island Pacific Brewing when they saw a bright future.
“They realized pretty quickly that there may be business in breweries,” recalls General Manager Reo Phillips, who has managed the company for the past eight years. “So they literally started a business in their garage and within a year they realized the potential. They didn’t look back.”
About four years ago, a group of Victoria and Vancouver businessmen purchased the company.
“The goal was to find someone local to take over the business,” Phillips recalls. “The new owners had been involved in various local partnerships for many years and believed an expansion into the manufacturing sector, and specifically food and beverage, would be a good move, and the fact they wanted to make sure it stayed in Victoria was a key factor in the decision.”
A welder completes work on a brewing unit at Specific Mechanical Systems
Today, Specific Mechanical System has a team approaching 85 people that designs, manufactures and services equipment at 6848 Kilpatrick Crescent.
“A lot of people don’t know that we’re here, a local company that has been supporting local craft beverage industries on the island, throughout BC and Canada and across the USA for years from little old Victoria,” he notes. “We’re really known for our quality craft brewing equipment and best in class customer service. We work with well over 2,000 brewers all around the world for over 35 years. We’re also known for our distilling systems, which are following in similar tracks to the craft brewing systems.
“There’s an ever-growing craft distilling industry, which we have been able to position and align Specific with from early on, starting about eight years ago. We are now known throughout North America and globally as the leading supplier for distillers.
A sparkling distillery unit from Specific Mechanical Systems
That is due in no small part to their commitment to 24/7 quality service, and a highly trained in-house staff that designs and manufactures products for both industries.
“The product we put out the door is top-notch,” he states. “We are also continually advancing the technology. Although the science and technology of brewing and distilling has been around for hundreds, and in some regions, thousands of years, we’re designing and implementing new methods and processes for both.
“We’re constantly improving the equipment that help produce the styles and tastes that everybody loves.”
