Synthesizing Years of Research and Knowledge

As Imperials in house chemist, Bill Kienzle's main goal is to ensure consistency of makeup for each product and to be able to accurately portray product characteristics to our customers.”

Bill Kienzle is a rarity in the sugar business these days. He’s one of a few chemists in the industry still conducting research at a sugar producer’s in-house laboratory.

Kienzle, who started full time with Imperial Sugar Company (ISC) 22 years ago and works now on a contract basis, brings decades of experience and knowledge to the company’s current product development efforts.

Every week, Kienzle receives dozens of product samples from Imperial Sugar’s two refineries in Georgia and Louisiana. He also takes in samples from Wholesome Sweeteners, a company part owned by ISC that produces organic and natural sugars, syrups, nectars and honeys.

Kienzle runs dozens of test each day.

At Imperial Sugar’s advanced laboratory, he can run hundreds of different analyses – testing as many as 60 samples a day.

“We can test for mineral and vitamin and content, as well as check color, moisture and granulation, to name a few” says Kienzle. “Our main goal is to ensure consistency of makeup for each product and to be able to accurately portray product characteristics to our customers.”

Kienzle was chief chemist at a sugar beet plant in Tracy, Calif., for Holly Sugar Corporation when ISC acquired the company in 1988. He says a lot of the work he did at that time in his career centered on statistical process design and suggesting operational cost-savings improvements.

Later, Kienzle was asked to join Imperial Sugar’s research team in Colorado Springs, where he worked two years before the facility was closed. From there, he moved to the company’s product and process development operations, conducting research and analysis at its Sugar Land, Texas , headquarters.

“We had – and still have – an advanced laboratory analysis system, including a number of laboratory instruments few other sugar laboratories have, as well as the ability to run them,” says Kienzle. His team analyzed processes and suggested ideas for improving operations at the Sugar Land refinery, which since has been shuttered.

These days, Kienzle focuses his time on the analysis of Steviacane™, a new sweetener product being developed by Imperial Sugar for Natural Sweet Ventures, a joint venture formed this year by the company and PureCircle, the leading producer of stevia products.

With Steviacane, Kienzle is double-checking the different amounts of rebaudioside A – a sugar from the Stevia plant – present in each of its formulations.  “At this point, I think we’re looking at very good consistency.”

Steviacane is a 100-percent natural sweetener that delivers a reduction in calories  versus  sugar and the same sweetness with less added sugar . It is produced through a patented process in which cane sugar and stevia are combined into an easy-to-use granulated product.

Steviacane is being tested with three different  formulations  – 35 percent, 50 percent and 75 percent  – added sugar reduction for the same sweetness and calorie reduction .  Samples have been distributed to more than 50 potential customer and commercial sales will begin in October.