Granulated Sugar Flows from Port Wentworth Refinery

Shirley Cherry checks truckload of granulated sugar

It was a night to remember … Anticipation filled the control room situated above a tanker truck waiting to be loaded at Imperial Sugar Company’s Port Wentworth, Ga. refinery. The room was packed with employees the evening of July 24, ready for a switch to be thrown that would begin filling trucks with granulated sugar, the first produced at the plant in more than 18 months.

At 10:25 p.m., loading operator Dwayne Frasier, surrounded by Elliot Gibbs and Marvin Knight, hit the start button that began loading the first truck. Two hours later, 48,000 lbs of sugar was successfully loaded, and the truck prepared to depart the refinery.

What might have been seen as routine to many people was a historic moment for all employees of Imperial Sugar Company – The plant had been temporarily closed as the result of a tragic explosion and fire in February 2008 and has since been rebuilt to the highest standards.

As the first sugar poured into the truck from the new loading facility, plant manager Thomas Rathke said, “We are finally back in the sugar business.”

Plant associate Shirley Cherry was standing at the first dock at the exit scale with a grin a mile wide. She had been waiting a long time to once again start filling out exit paperwork for sugar trucks. The first truck departed at 1:20 a.m.

As a ceremonial “thank you” to workers at Imperial Sugar’s refinery at Gramercy, Louisiana, a portion of the first shipment was sent directly to the Gramercy refinery in appreciation for the teams of employees who have worked overtime during the last year and a half to meet customer needs while the Port Wentworth sugar refinery was closed.

Plant associate Elliot Gibbs calls for a truck cab to move first load of granulated sugar.

Granulated sugar samples from first truck.

First trucks placed in shipping bays.

First granulated sugar truck being loaded.