Vendome Copper

What Vendome Copper does

Vendome Copper & Brass Works, Inc. is a privately held, fourth-generation family-owned custom metal fabricator headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, founded in the early 1900s by Elmore Sherman Sr. The company designs and fabricates bespoke copper and stainless steel processing equipment — including pot stills, column stills, doublers, heat exchangers, pressure vessels (ASME code), and tanks up to 200,000 gallons — for the spirits, brewing, chemical, pharmaceutical, dairy, and food/confectionery industries. Industry sources claim more than 95% of American whiskey production flows through Vendome equipment, with a customer roster spanning Buffalo Trace, Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Heaven Hill, Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve, Four Roses, Bulleit, Old Forester, and dozens of craft distilleries.

The underlying technology is rooted in specialized copper and stainless steel fabrication: precision welding, machining, and assembly of pressure vessels, heat exchangers, and custom tanks, executed by long-tenured craftsmen. In October 2024 the company opened a new 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at the Ormsby site in Louisville dedicated to stainless steel tank fabrication, expanding in-shop capacity to 50,000 gallons and on-site fabrication capacity to 200,000 gallons.

Commercially, Vendome operates a direct enterprise sales model: custom equipment is quote-based with lead times of 5–24 weeks, sold as one-time capital purchases with no disclosed recurring maintenance contracts at scale. A secondary revenue stream includes replacement parts and branded merchandise through a company-operated e-commerce shop, plus on-site field services for fabrication, repair, and maintenance. Distribution is direct — no intermediaries — with global reach evidenced by installations in Canada, Ireland, and Lebanon. The company is privately held, has no disclosed institutional investors or parent, and reports no financial figures.

Name

Vendome Copper

Legal name

Vendome Copper & Brass Works, Inc.

Website

https://vendomecopper.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1900

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Vendome Copper & Brass Works is a fourth-generation, family-owned custom metal fabricator in Louisville, Kentucky, building copper stills, stainless steel tanks, pressure vessels, and heat exchangers for distilleries, breweries, and chemical, pharmaceutical, and food processors worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Distillation and Process Equipment Manufacturing

NAICS

Machine Shops (332710)

SIC

Sheet Metal Work (3444), Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550)

akta.pro primary industry

Metal Forming & Fabrication Machines (Presses, Bending, Shearing, Stamping) (IMAHADAC)

Keywords

• Custom distillation equipment
• Copper still fabrication
• Stainless steel tanks
• Brewery equipment manufacturing
• Industrial pressure vessels

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Equipment Fabrication: Design and fabrication of custom copper and stainless steel processing equipment including distillation systems, tanks, pressure vessels, and heat exchangers sold as one-time capital equipment purchases to distilleries and industrial customers
2. Parts and Accessories: Sale of replacement parts, components, and small equipment accessories through e-commerce shop
3. Field Services: On-site fabrication, repair, and maintenance services for existing equipment

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Vendome Copper & Brass Works is a custom metal fabricator that designs, manufactures, and installs copper and stainless steel processing equipment for distilleries, breweries, chemical processors, pharmaceutical and dairy producers, and food/confectionery operations. Its portfolio spans pot stills, column stills, vodka systems, skid-mounted systems, stainless steel tanks up to 200,000 gallons, heat exchangers, and ASME-code pressure vessels, complemented by on-site field fabrication, repair, and maintenance services.

Product overview

Vendome Copper & Brass Works is a custom equipment manufacturer specializing in distillation equipment and stainless steel tank fabrication. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of products including distillation systems (batch, continuous, vodka, and skid-mounted), stainless steel tanks (up to 200,000 gallons), brewing equipment, chemical equipment, food/pharma processing equipment, and turnkey canning systems. Founded in the early 1900s and family-owned for four generations, the company operates a new 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and provides end-to-end solutions from concept to installation with field services including on-site fabrication, repair, and maintenance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Distillation Equipment Custom-fabricated copper and stainless steel distillation systems including batch pot stills, continuous columns, large continuous columns, vodka distillation systems, and skid-mounted systems used by distillers worldwide to produce bourbon, rum, gin, vodka, and other spirits.
• Stainless Steel Tank Fabrication Custom-fabricated stainless steel tanks manufactured in-shop up to 50,000 gallons or on-site up to 200,000 gallons, including ASME code pressure vessels for distilleries, breweries, chemical, food, pharmaceutical, and dairy applications.
• Brewing Equipment Custom fabricated copper or stainless steel brewing equipment such as fermenters, mash tuns, and conditioning tanks for large commercial breweries.
• Chemical Equipment Custom-fabricated chemical processing equipment including reactors, heat exchangers, and pressure vessels designed for corrosion-resistant chemical processing environments.
• Food and Confectionery Equipment Custom-fabricated food-grade kettles, cookers, pots, coils, and small tanks meeting FDA sanitation standards for food and confectionery production.
• Pharmaceutical and Dairy Equipment Food-grade vessels and processing equipment adhering to FDA sanitation standards and other regulatory body requirements for pharmaceutical and dairy applications.
• Turnkey Canning System Complete turnkey canning system solutions for beverage packaging, delivered as integrated systems for distilleries and beverage producers.
• Field Services On-site fabrication, repair, and maintenance services for existing Vendome and customer equipment, including on-site tank fabrication up to 200,000 gallons and a 0-day field service response time.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 95% of American whiskey production flows through Vendome equipment
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers64 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Forsyths: Scottish heritage coppersmith fabricating custom copper pot stills and distillation equipment for the global whisky and spirits industry. Closest direct peer to Vendome in copper distillation craftsmanship, competing head-to-head for premium bourbon, Scotch, and Irish whiskey projects.
• Christian Carl GmbH: German manufacturer of custom copper pot stills and distillation columns serving distilleries worldwide. Comparable in product scope (custom copper distillation systems for spirits) and customer segment (craft and premium spirits producers), making it one of Vendome's closest international peers.
• Specific Engineering Contractors: Indian fabricator of distillation equipment, brewhouses, and process vessels serving distilleries and breweries globally. Comparable on the process-equipment fabrication side serving similar end customers in spirits and brewing, though at typically lower price points and broader product scope.
• Kothe Destillationstechnik: German engineering firm specializing in distillation columns and process technology for spirits, ethanol, and chemical industries. Comparable as a custom-engineering fabricator of distillation and processing equipment for overlapping end markets, though with a stronger process-engineering/engineering-services tilt.
• Paul Mueller Company: US-based (Springfield, MO) stainless steel tank and process equipment fabricator serving brewing, dairy, food, and industrial customers. Direct peer in custom stainless tank fabrication (up to large volumes) with overlapping customer segments in brewing, dairy, and food processing.
• DCI Inc (Dairy Consultants Inc): US stainless steel process equipment manufacturer focused on dairy, food, beverage, and pharmaceutical sanitary processing tanks and components. Comparable in custom stainless fabrication serving FDA-grade dairy and food verticals that overlap with Vendome's pharma/dairy segment.
• Apache Stainless Equipment: US fabricator of custom stainless steel tanks, vessels, and process equipment for food, dairy, brewing, and chemical applications. Direct peer in mid-market custom stainless fabrication with overlapping customer use cases in food, beverage, and chemical processing.

Broad incumbents

• GEA Group: Global process technology supplier offering separators, homogenizers, brewing systems, and process equipment across dairy, food, beverage, and chemical industries. Competes with Vendome for large brewing, dairy, and chemical processing contracts but at much broader scale and with standardized product offerings.
• Alfa Laval: Global supplier of heat exchangers, separation equipment, and fluid handling systems serving food, dairy, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Overlaps with Vendome's heat exchanger and process vessel offerings but operates as a broad, multi-industry incumbent with much larger scale.

Emerging players

• Maurer-Atemschutz / Holstein & Kappert (H&K): European brewers' equipment and process technology providers serving brewery, beverage, and adjacent process industries. Comparable in fermentation and process vessel fabrication for brewing and beverage end-markets that overlap with Vendome's brewing equipment segment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VendomeCopper
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCLf7CTi9syJYKc7pKv0eH2A/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/vendomecopper
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vendomecopper
• Instagraminstagram.com/vendomecopper

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vendome Copper