Panhandle sugarbeet producers have several things to be thankful for as they move into an new year and a new era of processing at the Western Sugar Cooperative facilities in Fort Morgan, Colo., and Scottsbluff, Neb.
Rodney Perry, WSC president and chief executive officer, reported on progress of the expansion projects when he met with area growers during the annual Nebraska Non-Stock Beet Growers Association meeting Feb. 16. In an interview prior to the session, Perry said the harvest has brought “really good news” to growers, and the expansion projects will extend the good news well into the future.
He said the 2015 harvest went well, and pile storage this year has been an improvement over last year’s when fluctuating temperatures caused major problems with the quality of the beets.
Perry also said sugar prices have improved some, with an average of about $32/hundredweight for bulk sugar, which is a large part of Western’s customer base.
With the 2015 harvest and processing campaign winding down, the cooperative is looking forward to completing the expansion of facilities in Scottsbluff and at Fort Morgan.
Perry said the projects will increase long-term stability for the business, by doubling slicing capacity at Scottsbluff, and increasing capacity at Fort Morgan by 50 percent.
“We’re making sound investments that will reduce operating costs and reduce freight,” Perry explained. “We’ll still have storage and shipping at Torrington. A big advantage there is keeping the Union Pacific Railroad operating.”
There is some good news for Torrington employees, as well. Perry said full maintenance will be done through the summer, and the plant will run for an unspecified amount of time for the 2016 sugarbeet harvest. During early stages of the expansion, Western expected to cease operations at the end of the current campaign.
The expansion has a cost range of $75 to $90 million, and Perry said that remains the goal. Included will be a new beet handling operation on the front end at both locations. According to Perry, the new equipment will help expedite performance of the entire facilities.
Among the benefits will be more juice storage. This will enable the company to hold a “sugar run” at the end of the regular campaign, which will process the juice into sugar.
“We’ll be able to reduce the campaign by several days, but process more beets,” Perry said.
Source: www.starherald.com