By DUST CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
CUSTOMER
Michigan Sugar
LOCATION
Bay City, MI (USA)
CHALLENGE
Control odor from annual cleaning of settling ponds, which contain the decaying debris from washing beets throughout the processing campaign. The ponds are cleaned out in between campaigns with the mud recycled as fertilizer for local farmers. The mud needs to be slurried to make it the right consistency to be pumped into trucks.
SOLUTION
One OdorBoss running 24/7, staged upstream of the slurrying point where the mud is shot into the air to alter the consistency.
RESULTS
Odor complaints are down and visitors to the site have commented on the unit’s effectiveness. The factory extended their initial rental period and plan to rent again next year. The crew likes the mobility that allows them to restage the OdorBoss easily.
We’ve done a lot of homework on odor control systems, traveling across the country looking at different methods in action.
We haven’t seen anything with this kind of mobile, yet high-strength, platform.
Gary Witzgall Bay / City Factory Manager
A sugar beet processing plant has added the OdorBoss to their odor control arsenal to combat odors associated with annual cleaning of their settling ponds.
Michigan Sugar is the third-largest beet sugar processor in the United States, and the only remaining sugar company in the state of Michigan. Originally founded more than a century ago when six independent sugar beet companies merged, the firm has perfected the process of turning one of the region’s largest cash crops into pure, all-natural sugar.
In 2004, the organization became a grower-owned cooperative, and today approximately 900 growers have a stake. Together they farm 161,000 acres, delivering about 5 million tons of beets annually — enough to produce approximately 1.3 billion pounds of sugar each year.
Michigan Sugar rents the OdorBoss to tackle odors disrupted by the annual cleaning of the settling ponds, which contain the debris of millions of processed sugar beets.
Counting its three warehouses in Michigan and Ohio, the company employs approximately 700 people year-round and an additional 1,600 during peak processing season.
In all, Michigan Sugar Company’s seven facilities generate more than half a billion dollars annually in direct economic activity. Its products include granulated sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar and liquid sugar, sold in wholesale and retail quantities under the Pioneer® Sugar and Big Chief® Sugar brands.
The Bay City factory was originally constructed in 1901 and remains the largest of four Michigan Sugar plants. With a daily slice of about 8,700 tons of sugar beets during its production campaign (usually 200-220 days), the facility typically processes 1.5 million tons per year, yielding more than half a billion pounds of sugar annually.
With company owners and employees all living in and around the areas where the facilities are located, management is acutely aware of its role as a corporate citizen.
“We have always strived to be a positive force in the communities where we operate, and to demonstrate responsible environmental stewardship,” said Bay City Factory Manager Gary Witzgall.
“We believe that we can have the greatest positiv