Imperial Sugar
Imperial Sugar Company holds the number one position in refined sugar in the United States, with a market share of about 33 percent. The company refines raw cane sugar at four facilities in Texas, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana, and processes beet sugar at 11 processing plants in California, Wyoming, Montana, and Michigan. Its line of sugar products includes several well-known regional brands: Imperial Sugar (Southwest), Dixie Crystals (Southeast), Pioneer Sugar (Great Lakes region), Holly Sugar (intermountain West), and Spreckels Sugar (California). The company also sells sugar under private labels and markets the Wholesome Foods brand, the national leader in organic sweeteners. In addition to its sugar operations, Imperial Sugar derives about one-quarter of its revenues from its foodservice business, which sells a variety of nonsugar products–from drink mixes to plastic cutlery–restaurants, healthcare institutions, schools, and other entities. Imperial Sugar traces its history back to 1843, when a sugar refinery was erected on a small sugar plantation in Sugar Land, Texas. The fledgling sugar enterprise grew as the nation grew, adopted the name Imperial Sugar Company during the early 20th century, then merged in 1988 with Holly Sugar Company–a beet sugar producer with roots stretching back to 1905–form Imperial Holly Corporation. Following the acquisitions of Spreckels Sugar Company in 1996, Savannah Foods & Industries, Inc. in 1997, and Wholesome Foods L.L.C. and Diamond Crystal Specialty Foods, Inc. in 1998, the company changed its name back to Imperial Sugar Company in 1999.
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