Imperial Sugar to Re-Build Plant

It’s been three weeks since the explosion at the Dixie Crystal Sugar Refinery. Taking 12 lives and injuring more than 40, the impact of this disaster has hit the community very hard. Only 12 percent of the plant itself was destroyed, but it was enough to shut down the operation.  



This week News 3's Alice Massimi spoke one on one with the company's CEO John Sheptor about his strength throughout all of this. Tonight on News 3 at 6, we continue with Alice's conversation with Mr. Sheptor to find out what it will take for sugar to once again flow out of the plant.     



The fires burned for days, the damage devastating. The memories of that horrific night etched in the minds of those working, but Imperial Sugar's CEO John Sheptor says they will rebuild.



“There was a refinery that received raw sugar, it removes the color and impurities and produces a bulk white sugar. That product, about 70 percent of it was shipped to industrial customers by rail car. That part has relatively minor damage,” explains Sheptor.



Sheptor says once investigators are finished, some major cleaning needs to be done, but he hopes to open the refinery back up by the end of the year.



The packaging facility, where the bags of sugar you buy in a store are made, is another story.



“That was approximately 30 percent of what was produced, that is a complete loss. That part will take 24 months to rebuild.”



In the meantime a temporary packaging facility is going to be built and the best part is employees will be paid through it all. In fact almost half of them are already back to work, but they’re not doing the job they normally would.



Now they’re doing everything from supporting the investigation to designing the new packaging facility. Sheptor says the number of employees back on the job will continue to increase.



“What it gives us the opportunity to do is provide a state-of-the-art facility that will provide us the competitive position we didn't have previously.”



The only silver lining Sheptor says to this heart-wrenching event.