Case Study

Salcombe Distilling Company

Salcombe Distilling Company (SDCo) is an award‑winning distillery based in Salcombe, Devon, specialising in ultra‑premium spirits and exceptional customer experiences. Operating across four sites in Salcombe, Kingsbridge and Dartmouth, SDCo combines craftsmanship with hospitality at every level.

Founded in 2016, SDCo has grown rapidly, earning numerous international awards, expanding to a team of over 30 people, exporting worldwide, and welcoming thousands of guests through its experiences and events.

Before IT WORKHOUSE

Salcombe Distilling Company and IT Workhouse began working together in 2018. At the time, SDCo was operating with a small team across two sites and had no dedicated IT support in place. With clear plans for rapid growth, it was essential that technology was built in as a foundation, not an afterthought.

IT provision was basic, with a single Wi‑Fi connection per site and one laptop issued per member of staff.

What we did

After meeting with Howard and Angus, Directors and Co‑Founders, to align on strategy, IT Workhouse stepped in as SDCo’s IT department, supporting business growth and simplifying staff onboarding.

We introduced responsive IT support for all staff, implemented long‑term security measures, improved file sharing, and upgraded and maintained devices across the business. Alongside this, we adopted a cloud‑first approach, ensuring SDCo was fully equipped to adapt quickly as the organisation evolved.

Significant improvements

Over the past five years, SDCo has doubled both its team size and its premises. Throughout this period, IT Workhouse has acted as a consistent and reliable support partner, streamlining internal processes and introducing key information security measures including multi‑factor authentication, password management, and legislative compliance.

Security awareness is reinforced through regular snapshot training, helping staff at every level understand their role in keeping systems secure. As SDCo has grown and changed, we have evolved alongside them, maintaining a strong focus on efficiency, resilience, and usability.

By embedding ourselves into the business, we’ve ensured staff can access support quickly and easily whenever issues arise. Our straightforward, proactive approach means most small problems are resolved before they have the chance to become bigger ones.

Testimonial

“IT WORKHOUSE has provided outstanding support to Salcombe Distilling Co. over the many years we have been working with them. Of particular note, has been their robust approach to security across our IT systems, implementing best in class systems, as well as the human side of this in terms of providing guidance to our teams on how to minimise the risk of issues by detecting possible scams and having good working practices. Their general level of support for core infrastructure such as broadband provision, laptop/network support and digital telephony systems has been excellent also. Finally, and of real importance is their helpdesk’s personal and very quick response to any calls or queries any member of the team has. Highly recommended” 

Howard Davies, Director & Co-Founder