A Splash of Paint at Port Wentworth

For eight hours a day, muralist Eric Henn stands alone on a lift, hoisted 120 feet in the air. His task: to hand-paint Imperial Sugar Company’s Dixie Crystals logo on each of three sugar silos at the Port Wentworth refinery.

For eight hours a day, muralist Eric Henn stands alone on a lift, hoisted 120 feet in the air. His task: to hand-paint Imperial Sugar Company’s Dixie Crystals logo on each of three sugar silos at the Port Wentworth refinery.

The three 156-foot-tall sugar silos were the “last big piece to go online” as the rebuild of the Port Wentworth refinery came to a conclusion at the start of 2010, says Brian Harrison, vice president of sugar technology. The silos allowed the refinery to ramp up to full production.

And the freshly painted murals serve as the “final touch,” says Scott Hall, engineering team leader.

Hall selected Henn for the job because of the muralist’s connection to nearby Savannah: Henn previously painted a natural-gas tank in the city to resemble planet Earth, and the tank has become something of a landmark.

Though Hall chose the artist, a team of employees picked the specific Imperial logo design from among five different options, and CEO John Sheptor gave the plan final approval.

When the four-week paint job is finished, employees will be able to stand nearly anywhere on the grounds of the refinery and see the 20-by-30-foot murals proudly branding the silos.