New Chicago-area sugar refinery will mean more carloads for Class Is come 2026
2/21/2024
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
Sugar processor and supplier Sucro Ltd. recently announced plans to construct a rail-served sugar refinery in the greater Chicago area.
To be built on the company’s existing property in University Park, Illinois, the refinery will address the growing yet underserved U.S. sugar market, Sucro officials said in a press release. The facility will process and refine specialty cane sugars, including large grain crystals used in specialty foods and confectionery, brown sugars, organic sugars and specialty liquids.
The refinery will feature fully integrated logistics infrastructure, including track for inbound and outbound rail shipments and roads. Construction is anticipated to begin in the second quarter, with commissioning in first-half 2025, refining capacities to come online in second-half 2025 and initial production expected in 2026.
After it’s completed, the refinery will be served by all the Class Is — an advantage in locating the facility in the nation’s largest rail hub, said Ian Tharp, who manages investor relations for Coral Gables, Florida-based Sucro, in an email.
The Windy City location also affords an opportunity to establish the nation’s most inland cane sugar refinery with the capability to serve food processors and manufacturers in the Midwest with a more efficient supply of refined cane sugar and specialty sugars, Sucro officials say.
Freight moved into and out of the Lackawanna refinery is transported by rail and truck. The rail moves involve Canadian Pacific Kansas City, CN, CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway. Sucro Ltd.The U.S. sugar market is “chronically short of supply” and demand is growing, especially for specialty value-added segments like large-grain crystals, said Sucro founder and CEO Jonathan Taylor. For example, higher-value specialty sugar products are highly sought by U.S. food processors and manufacturers.
“Our new Chicago refinery will add much-needed domestic refinery capacity to address the demand for refined sugar and reduce the market's reliance on imports,” Taylor said.
The refinery will leverage Sucro's existing sugar processing infrastructure in University Park. Its scale will be similar in scope to the company's refinery in Lackawanna, New York, that’s served by Genesee & Wyoming Inc.’s Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad. The short line interchanges with Canadian Pacific Kansas City, CN, CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway.
The Chicago-area refinery will be Sucro's third new facility in the past five years. In January, the company’s Sucro Can Sourcing LLC subsidiary announced plans to build Canada's largest sugar refinery at the Port of Hamilton, Ontario, on land owned by the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority. After it’s constructed in a few years, CN and CPKC will serve that facility.
“Once the new Chicago refinery and the recently announced new refinery in Hamilton are complete, we believe Sucro will be responsible for adding more new capacity to the North American market than all other sugar refiners combined,” said Taylor.