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New Refinery Strengthens Louisiana Sugar Industry

Louisiana sugar growers and local government see a boon for industry growth and economic development in Louisiana as construction of a state-of-the-art sugar refinery in Gramercy officially gets under way.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal receives a New Orleans Saints hard hat from Lonnie Champagne, General Manager of Louisiana Sugar Cane Products, while speaking to more than 250 attendees at groundbreaking for the new LSR cane sugar refinery in Gramery, La. Jindal emphasized the economic development importance of the new plant to Louisiana.

“This is a great day for our sugar industry and for Louisiana,” said Governor Bobby Jindal, who keynoted the recent groundbreaking of the new Gramercy plant. “Sugar is an important part of our history and it’s an important part of our future.”

The new refinery will produce a million tons of refined sugar a year, making it the largest sugar refinery in North America. It is expected to bring more than 500 construction jobs as well as new plant jobs to the Gramercy area.

The unique nature of the joint venture behind the refinery also promises to safeguard the livelihood of hundreds of Louisiana sugar farmers and strengthen the industry as a whole.

Lonnie Champagne, General Manager, Louisiana Sugar Cane Products.

The new plant will be owned operated and owned by Louisiana Sugar Refining, LLC (or LSR), a joint venture with Sugar Growers and Refiners, Inc., Cargill and Imperial Sugar Company.

Sugar Growers and Refiners represents 700 sugar cane growers and land owners, eight sugar cane mills, and more than 10,000 workers throughout 23 parishes in southern Louisiana. All total, the group provides 42 percent of the nation’s sugar cane crop.

The prosperity of sugar cane farmers is tied to fluctuations in the price of raw sugar. As part owner of the refinery, Sugar Growers and Refiners makes it possible for its members to participate in the marketing and profits of refined sugar.

“Through this joint venture, the Louisiana sugar industry takes a giant leap forward into the next generation,” said Lonnie Champagne, general manager of Sugar Growers and Refiners. “By combining our farming expertise with the refining and marketing expertise of Imperial and Cargill, our growers and mill owners will benefit from the entire sugar production process, which takes the sugar from the field to the table.”

Frank Minvielle, chairman of Sugar Growers and Refiners, said that because of the tight economic situation, the co-op was losing four to six farmers a year and that “the new refinery is a matter of survival.”

Frank Minvielle, chairman of Sugar Growers and Refiners, said, "The new refinery is a matter of survival.”

Minvielle, who also is a sugar farmer and president of Cajun Sugar Co-op, went on to explain that the lending institutions farmers rely on to get crop loans will feel more confident now that sugar growers will have the ability to participate in the price of white sugar.

In his remarks, Governor Jindal stressed this new farm-to-market vertical integration will provide a competitive advantage for Louisiana’s sugar industry. “Indeed, these are the kinds of projects that not only create good jobs for our people, but also strengthen the competitiveness of our agriculture industry.”


February 7, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Vision for the New Louisiana Sugar Refinery

Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana with Lonnie Champagne of Louisiana Sugar Refining; Alan Willits, President of Cargill Corn Milling North America; and Imperial Sugar CEO John Sheptor.

The three leaders of the joint venture to build the new Louisiana Sugar Refinery at Gramercy, La., took time from ground breaking events on Wednesday, February 3, to talk about their vision for the new million-ton-per-year cane sugar refinery.

Here are comments from John Sheptor, President and CEO of Imperial Sugar Company; Alan Willits, President, Business Unit Leader, Cargill Corn Milling North America; and Lonnie Champagne, General Manager, Louisiana Sugar Cane Products. Then, the ceremonial ground breaking, attended by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.


February 4, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Louisiana Sugar Refining: A New Era of Competitive Strength

Alan Willits, President, Business Unit Leader, Cargill Corn Milling North America, Lonnie Champagne, General Manager, Louisiana Sugar Cane Products and John Sheptor, President and CEO of Imperial Sugar at groundbreaking of new Louisiana Sugar Refining plant.

Construction now is officially underway on the new state-of-the-art, 3,100 tons per day Louisiana Sugar Refining (or LSR) refinery at Gramercy – a joint venture with Louisiana growers and millers, Cargill and Imperial Sugar Company. The sugar cane refinery – located near both Baton Rouge and New Orleans – signifies a new era of competitive strength for the sugar cane industry in southern Louisiana and America.

For the approximately 700 Louisiana sugar growers, the sugar refinery means economic stability and teaming with reliable production, marketing and distribution partners.

Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, speaks to more than 250 groundbreaking attendees.

For Imperial Sugar Company, the new refinery will result in the retirement of Imperial Sugar’s existing refinery built originally in 1898. Following the start up of the Louisiana Sugar Refining refinery in 2011, Imperial will own or participate in two of the most modern and safest sugar refineries in North America. Imperial Sugar’s other major sugar refining plant is located at Port Wentworth, near Savannah, Georgia.

Imperial Sugar CEO John Sheptor said construction adjacent to the existing refinery would allow LSR to take advantage of current infrastructure and operational support and promote an orderly transition from the existing refinery to the new, state-of-the-art refinery while at the same time keeping the option of running the existing refinery longer if needed.”

Alan Willits, President, Business Unit Leader, Cargill Corn Milling North America, said:

What each company brings to this alliance creates an almost perfect union. Imperial’s Gramercy site, its existing assets, infrastructure and its commitment to purchasing sugar for its on-site retail packaging business gives LSR strategic benefits and efficiencies that it would not otherwise have realized. The cane growers of this region have a 200+year heritage in growing and milling sugarcane and give LSR a sturdy foundation in this region’s rich history. But to fully participate in this industry for the next generation, they needed to take it a step further, into refining finished products and marketing them to food customers.

That’s where Cargill comes in. Cargill has been marketing to food makers for most of our 140 years. We sell flour, salt, flavorings, oils and an array of sweeteners, among many other ingredients. Adding sugar to our portfolio is a natural extension. And there’s no better place to make high quality sugar for those U.S. food manufacturers than right here in Louisiana.

Willits said the joint venture will attempt to follow a path as a good employer, a good supplier to its customers and a good corporate citizen.

When the new sugar refinery is completed in 2011, Imperial will continue to operate the small bag packing facility in Gramercy, with refined bulk sugar purchased from LSR under a long term, market-based supply agreement.

February 3, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

New Refinery Continues Sugar Town’s Legacy

When David Reynaud steps outside his office at the News Examiner in Lutcher, Louisiana, to catch a quick smoke, he can hear the sound of massive steel pilings being driven into the ground.

That sound is coming from the new sugar refinery being constructed in the neighboring town of Gramercy.

David Reynaud, editor of the St. James Parish News Examiner.

“People in town are starting to talk as they see signs of construction,” said Reynaud, who is editor for the News Examiner. “They’re starting to get interested now that they actually see some work getting done.”

The new refinery being built will be owned and operated by Louisiana Sugar Refining, LLC, a joint venture among Sugar Growers and Refiners, Inc., Cargill and Imperial Sugar Company. Imperial expects it will strengthen the sugar cane industry in southern Louisiana and bring an economic boost to the region.

Sugar refining is not new to these two towns separated by a single street and situated along the banks of the Mississippi River just 45 miles northwest of New Orleans. Many of the combined 6,000 townspeople grew up with the old Colonial refinery, as they still call it, which was founded in the 1890s along with the surrounding town of Gramercy.

The old refinery has been run by several companies since – including Colonial Sugars starting in 1902 – and is now owned and operated by Imperial Sugar.

Reynaud, who also edits the The Enterprise in Vacherie across the river, was born and raised in Gramercy. He said many of his friends’ fathers have worked at the Gramercy refinery.

“It’s been an important facility in the upbringing of people around here. My Godfather’s father was a Colonial plant manager. A lot of my high school friends used to work there in the summer to make a little extra money.”

While Reynaud, 32, is admittedly a relative newcomer to much of the area’s history, he believes the new refinery is a plus for Gramercy and Lutcher.

“Any time you can start new construction and bring in some new jobs, that’s always good. It makes people feel a little more secure when things are improving.”

Lutcher and Gramercy are located within St. James Parish, total population of 21,000 and home of many sugar cane farming families.

Dale Hymel, president of St. James Parish since 1992, has family that continues to farm sugar cane today.

Dale Hymel, president of St. James Parish since 1992, has family that continues to farm today. “All the sugar cane that you can see from the Gramercy refinery is still grown and harvested on the property my family owns.”

Currently, that’s about 2,000 acres, 800 of which the family purchased from one of the past owners of the existing refinery.

Hymel said his grandfather started the family’s sugar cane business. “I drove him through the sugar cane fields so he could inspect the crops. I started driving tractors on my own when I was ten years old.”

After working in the cold weather and rain during the harvest season, Hymel made the decision to go to college.

He thinks the new refinery is a “win-win situation for farmers and consumers” and will continue to provide a solid source of employment for parish residents.

Gramercy’s mayor, Herman Bourgeois, hopes the new refinery brings additional jobs to the community.

Gramercy’s mayor, Herman Bourgeois, hopes the new refinery brings additional jobs to the community. “We’re always looking for progress. We’re always looking to keep our people employed. And we welcome a good neighbor, just like Colonial has been for many years for the town of Gramercy.”

Part of that progress will come in the refinery’s state-of-the art equipment and automated processes, which the Mayor believes will be safer for members of the community who work there.

“We support cane farming here in St. James Parish. It’s one of our major industries. The old refinery has employed a lot of local people in communities from the river parishes. And we’re just tickled to death to have an expansion and a good, permanent employer in Gramercy.“

Lloyd Kliebert started working at the old refinery 41 years ago. He is currently a maintenance coordinator at the plant for Imperial Sugar Company and president of Local 1167-P UFCW. The plant currently has about 275 Imperial employees and 190 contractors.

“I still have a lot of questions,” Kliebert said. “My hopes are that the new refinery will be something good for the community, something good for the town and the workers who put their lives into this refinery.

“I still have a lot of questions,” Kliebert said. “My hopes are that the new refinery will be something good for the community, something good for the town and the workers who put their lives into this refinery. And if not for themselves, then for their families. It’s something that’s been handed down from grandfather to father to son.”

Case in point, Kliebert’s father started work at the refinery in the 1940s, and now he has two of his own sons there.
Kliebert, who will be 62 in May, also was born and raised in Gramercy. “I’ve been living here all my life. I live two streets away from the refinery. My mom lives one street closer. In fact, she can sit on her porch and watch the new refinery being built every day.”

The new million-ton-per-year sugar refinery is expected to bring more than 500 construction jobs as well as new plant jobs to the Gramercy area.

Groundbreaking is set for Wednesday, February 3. Representatives from Sugar Growers and Refiners, Cargill and Imperial Sugar will be joined by local, state and congressional officials.

February 1, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
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