Sugar Industry Leaders Tour Imperial Refineries

Lantic Sugar's President and CEO, Ed Makin (L), with Imperial's President and CEO, John Sheptor

By controlling the potential hazards of sugar dust during the refining process, Imperial Sugar Company is taking a proactive leadership position in the industry. Case in point: Safety has been paramount throughout the rebuilding and modernization of the company’s sugar refinery at Port Wentworth, Georgia – one of America’s largest sugar refineries.

In addition, newly enhanced training procedures have been introduced at the Gramercy, Louisiana refinery, located along the banks of the Mississippi near New Orleans. And an innovative part of Imperial Sugar’s intense safety program is built around sharing information and best practices with leaders of other sugar companies, including competitors, throughout the U.S., Canada and elsewhere.

Lantic officials tour Port Wentworth refinery

For example, executives from Montreal-based Lantic Sugar were among the latest group of top industry executives touring both Imperial refineries. Lantic is the leading sugar refiner in Canada with greater than a 50 percent share of the country’s sugar market.

Ed Makin, Lantic’s President and CEO, and VP of Operations Richard Authier, received detailed briefings on safety procedures while observing redesigned processing and packaging rooms equipped with specially made German equipment that virtually eliminates sugar dust.

Ed Makin, President & CEO, Lantic Sugar

And while at Gramercy, both leaders were briefed on all aspects of employee safety training, from classroom sessions to special protective clothing and boots that are mandatory for anyone working in or entering the refineries.

Makin noted that Imperial Sugar’s commitment comes through loud and clear. “There is a genuine full-force effort to correct things and make them right, and what struck me was taking a leadership role in the area of dust control, dust management that I’ve never seen anywhere.”

“The company is clearly spending a lot of money,” he said, “and has added expense in terms of the safety contingent that is now onboard, with new positions that have been created to change the management structure. A lot of these folks, with a few exceptions, are people who come from outside our industry and have a different mindset to what makes an outstanding safety environment.”

Lantic officials tour Gramercy refinery

Lantic’s Makin sees increased sharing of a spectrum of safety and manufacturing best-practices between the two companies and committed to collaborate and make both companies stronger.

While Lantic and Imperial Sugar are not direct competitors, Imperial intends to host representatives from other sugar companies and from the industry as a whole, including competitors, to share program details that will lead to enhanced, industry-wide safety practices in the process of refining sugar.