RSSArchive for May, 2010

DMAIC Team

Boosting Refinery Productivity Through Teamwork

Over the last few months, a special team of workers at Imperial Sugar’s refinery at Port Wentworth, Ga., have significantly increased productivity or throughput in the sugar making process by using a proven and well-known project methodology in manufacturing that has the acronym, DMAIC.

Foreign Investors Pour into Brazilian Sugar

Foreign investors are not just snapping up Brazilian farmland – they are taking a bigger stake in sugar operators too, tripling their participation within three years, reports AgriMoney.com.

Nakisha

Nakisha Hill: Savannah Roots, People She Loves

If there’s one person who knows just about everything that moves into Imperial Sugar’s large Port Wentworth, Ga., sugar refinery, it is Nakisha Hill. It’s her job … as the company’s Receiving Clerk.

Tate & Lyle Considers Quitting Sugar Business

Tate & Lyle Considers Quitting Sugar Business

Pressure is growing on new Tate & Lyle chief executive Javed Ahmed to unveil a radical restructuring this week, which could even see the company quit its historic sugar business.

Tom Wilson

How Big is a Particle of Sugar? It’s Tom Wilson’s Job to Know

Have you ever thought about the size of one single crystal of sugar? Are all sugar crystals the same size and color … or are they different? There’s no easy answer because refined cane sugar comes in many sizes and colors for multitudes of uses, from the home sugar bowl to the needs of commercial bakers.

Sugar Technologists Honor Imperial’s Brian Harrison

Sugar Technologists Honor Imperial’s Brian Harrison

Brian Harrison, Vice President for Sugar Technology at Imperial Sugar Company, has been named the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Crystal Award of the Sugar Industry Technologists (S.I.T.), a leading professional organization of the sugar industry.

S.I.T. members tour Imperial Sugar's production areas with Brian Harrison, VP for Sugar Technology.

S.I.T. Conference Attendees Tour Port Wentworth Refinery

The 2010 Sugar Industry Technologists (S.I.T.) Conference meeting in Savannah, Ga., wrapped up its sessions with a VIP tour of Imperial Sugar Company’s large, modern cane sugar refinery in nearby Port Wentworth.

Bob

Gramercy Sugar Refinery Gets Safety Upgrade

A major safety upgrade is nearing completion at Imperial Sugar Company’s sugar refinery located in Gramercy, Louisiana – one of the oldest sugar refineries in the country.

Cuba’s Sugar Industry Dissolves

Cuba’s Sugar Industry Dissolves

Cuba was once the world’s largest sugar exporter. But, according to a local expert, it “has been reduced to rubble by poor state management, a lack of capital, sanctions, hurricanes and other factors.”

Sheptor Calls for Highest Industry Safety Standards

Sheptor Calls for Highest Industry Safety Standards

Imperial Sugar Company President and CEO John C. Sheptor has issued a call for immediate action within the sugar industry worldwide to create the highest degree of safety standards and to share all safety data among companies.

Elton Brady collects samples at the liquid sugar loading docks to be taken to the lab to ensure Imperial's high quality demands are met.

Preference for Natural Sweeteners Grows

There’s no getting around the fact that high-fructose corn syrup is experiencing a slow downward spiral. Sales of high-fructose corn syrup have fallen in the United States by 9 percent in 2009, compared with 2007, according to an analyst at Credit Suisse — with more of a drop expected this year.

Sugar Industry Technologists Conference Kicks Off in Savannah

Sugar Industry Technologists Conference Kicks Off in Savannah

The 2010 world conference of Sugar Industry Technologists is held this year in Savannah, May 16 – 19, with a full schedule of speeches, panels and technical sessions.

A Great American Cookie Comeback

A Great American Cookie Comeback

Michael Curtis, vice president of plant operations for Great American Cookies, waited for nearly two years to see 50-pound bags of “Medium Chocolate Chip” brown sugar make their way down the conveyor belt at Imperial Sugar Company’s refinery in Port Wentworth.

Experts: FDA Needs New Tools to Check Food, Drugs

Experts: FDA Needs New Tools to Check Food, Drugs

The Food and Drug Administration is stuck using crude tools to measure the benefits of food, drugs and supplements and needs a whole new set of standards, a panel of experts has said.