Plant allows company to extract additional sugar from 100% of the molasses it produces as byproduct
MONITOR TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN – After nearly four years in the making – from conception, to engineering, to construction, to start-up – Michigan Sugar Company today dedicated its new Molasses Desugarization Facility with a ribbon cutting ceremony held at its sugarbeet slicing facility in Bay County’s Monitor Township.
Construction on the $109 million, 22,000-square-foot facility began in June 2022 with Michigan Sugar Company serving as the general contractor and Pumford Construction of Saginaw as the Civil/Structural Contractor. The facility came online on Monday, May 20, 2024. During the nearly two years of construction, more than 160,000 safe working man hours were recorded on the project.
“Today, we celebrate the start-up of the single largest capital investment in our company’s history,” said Michigan Sugar President & CEO Neil Juhnke. “This facility puts us on the leading edge of our industry in terms of desugarization capacity and technology. And we built it without a single lost-time incident, a remarkable accomplishment only made possible through excellence in planning, execution, and teamwork. We want to commend the team that has overseen this incredible project, as well as the countless contractors who had a part in building this state-of-the-art facility.”
The new facility allows Michigan Sugar to process 100% of the molasses it produces as a byproduct of the sugar extraction process. “Desugaring” all the molasses will allow Michigan Sugar to produce up to an additional 80 million pounds of sugar annually without planting another acre of sugarbeets. Before the facility, Michigan Sugar Company had the capacity to extract additional sugar from 60% of its molasses. Now, the company expects to process as much as 650 tons of molasses daily, up from the previous amount of 325 tons per day.
“This facility is a story not just about economic development, but about sustainability,” said Michigan Sugar Co-op Board Chairman Jim Roggenbuck, a sugarbeet grower from Harbor Beach. “Making this investment was vital because it allows us to produce more sugar without any additional passes over our farm fields with our equipment, without any further spraying of our crops to ward off disease and pests, and without using any additional fuel on our farms to expand operations.”
Nick Klein, Michigan Sugar’s Vice President of Operations, added: “This new facility is more than just a place of production – it is a symbol of innovation, efficiency, and progress. It truly is a game-changer for our company and aligns perfectly with our mission: Creating Growth & Opportunity, and our purpose: Making Life Sweeter.”
Klein said the scope of the project also included the addition of juice softening equipment at Michigan Sugar’s Caro and Sebewaing factories, as well as construction of a new 33,000-gallon extract tank at the Monitor Township site.
“It was an impressive project, for sure,” he said. “In the end, it took 4,866 cubic yards of concrete, 766 tons of structural steel, and 10.4 miles of piping to make it a reality, along with 3,400 feet of cable tray, 18 miles of cable wire, 760 instruments, 2,475 valves, 109 motors, 93 pumps, and 3,000 feet of fiber for the network.”
Community leaders from throughout Bay County have lauded the project.
“As one of our township’s largest taxpayers and employers, we depend greatly on Michigan Sugar Company as a pillar of our economy,” said Monitor Township Supervisor Terry Spencer. “It never ceases to amaze me the ongoing investments this company makes to benefit the community. Michigan Sugar literally invests millions of dollars each year to improve its facilities and operations. We are so fortunate the company’s grower-owners have continued to invest here year after year.”
Jim Reaume, President and CEO of Bay Future Inc., called the project “exciting, substantial, and transformational.”
“The impact of this project will have a ripple effect throughout Bay County, the Great Lakes Bay Region, the state of Michigan, and beyond,” he said. “This investment will provide both direct and indirect benefits across businesses and to community members who call Bay County and the region home. I am thankful for Michigan Sugar Company – for their leadership, and for their long-standing financial investment in economic development in Bay County.”
