
OAKING brings together, around American white oak (Quercus alba), our companies based in the United States and Scotland, each recognized for its expertise and united by the same commitment to quality. This integrated organization, spanning from forest management to finished products, enables us to support distillers as well as construction professionals with premium, competitive solutions tailored to their needs.
OAKING’s activities are structured around two core markets.
For the construction, interior fit-out, and design sectors, OAKING selects and transforms the finest American white oak into premium lumber and flooring for the most demanding projects. Leveraging extensive expertise in sawing and oak processing, OAKING’s companies enhance the unique aesthetic and technical qualities of this species, renowned worldwide.
For the bourbon, whisky, and spirits industries, OAKING controls every stage of cooperage production: forest sourcing, stave manufacturing, new barrel production, and barrel lifecycle management. Its cooperage crafts premium barrels with recognized expertise in traditional wood-fire toasting and charring techniques. Beyond manufacturing, OAKING’s companies have also developed a comprehensive offering dedicated to the second life of barrels, including the sourcing of used barrels, storage, international logistics, repair, reconditioning, and barrel repurposing. This circular approach maximizes the value of every resource and provides distillers with long-term support tailored to their evolving needs.
Driven by a commitment to sustainability, full traceability, and integrated expertise across its businesses, OAKING is helping shape the future of the barrel industry and the value creation of American white oak.
Our Crafts
OAKING’s expertise is structured around five strategic pillars: Forestry & Sourcing; Lumber & Oak Flooring Solutions; Oak Stave; New Barrels; and Second Life & Services. This integrated model ensures traceability, performance, and the sustainable optimization of American white oak, serving distillers and professionals across construction and design.
Forestry
Sawmill
Oak Flooring
Stave Mill
Cooperage
Valorization & Recycling of Barrels
OUR HOUSES
OAKING relies on a network of specialized sites.
Each house contributes targeted expertise within a shared organization that ensures industrial consistency and continuity of quality.
Oakwood Cooperage (Morayshire)
Located in Scotland, Oakwood Cooperage was founded by Brent Bowie in 2018 and operates across two sites: Keith and Uddingston. The House specializes in the restoration of used barrels for whisky and in the international trading of second-hand casks (Bourbon, Sherry, Port, etc.). All these oak vessels thus enter a new life cycle, extending the virtuous circle of sustainable management. A single oak barrel can reach more than 100 years of age, having contributed first to the aging of a fine wine and later to spirits. Oakwood Cooperage joined Charlois in 2022 to strengthen its position in the international market for used casks dedicated to spirits.
Isla Bank Mills, Station Road, Keith, - Morayshire AB55 5DD Scotland
Oakwood Cooperage (Lanarkshire)
Block 4, Goldie Road, Bothwell Park Industrial Estate - G71 6PB Uddingston, South Lanarkshire Scotland
Graf Brothers
For four generations, the Graf family has been committed to oak transformation in the United States. Founded in 2003 by Greg and Dave Graf in South Shore, Kentucky — at the heart of the Appalachian white oak forests — Graf Brothers is now the world’s largest quarter- and rift-sawn American white oak sawmill. Specializing in Quercus alba, the company transforms oak for construction, interior fittings, premium parquet flooring, and — given its proximity to Bourbon Country — for stave milling. Since 2023, it has operated the largest single-site stave production capacity in the United States and supplies the Group’s cooperages. Sharing with Charlois the same high standards in oak selection and material mastery, Graf Brothers joined the Group in 2024. As with Charlois, everything begins in the forest — ensuring full traceability and exceptional oak quality.
679 Johnson Lane, South Shore - Kentucky 41175, United States
Kelvin Cooperage
Kelvin Cooperage has been a family-owned company since its founding in 1963 by the McLaughlin family on the banks of the River Kelvin in Glasgow, Scotland. From the outset, Kelvin Cooperage has supplied major distilleries in Scotland, Ireland, and around the world. In 1991, Kelvin Cooperage established operations in Louisville, Kentucky, to benefit from its proximity to the Bourbon region and access to high-quality American oak for barrel production. As part of its development strategy, Kelvin Cooperage reached a major milestone by joining Charlois in September 2023, notably securing its entire premium stave supply from Graf Brothers. Kelvin Cooperage supplies both new and used barrels to some of the most renowned premium distilleries worldwide.
1103 Outer Loop, Louisville - Kentucky 40219 United States
Our Key Figures
Key figures reflecting OAKING’s commitment to enhancing the value of American white oak.
+480
Men and women committed to upholding the excellence of American white oak (Quercus alba)
+90
Average age of American white oak (Quercus alba) at the time of processing
850,000
used barrels managed each year, giving them a new lease of life that can extend for several decades.