Sucro Can Sourcing to build Canada’s largest sugar refinery in Hamilton, Ont.

Sucro Can Sourcing LLC, an integrated sugar refiner based in Miami, has unveiled plans to build Canada’s largest sugar refinery at the Port of Hamilton, Ont. It will use lands owned by the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA Ports).

The facility, anticipated to be the largest in Canada, will include an annual refining capacity of one million metric tonnes. The project will cost at least $135 million.

“The sugar markets in both Canada and the United States are experiencing steady, long-term, sustainable growth, and Sucro is investing to supply these growing market demands,” said Jonathan Taylor, founder and CEO of Sucro Sourcing. “We have a customer base that is loyal and growing, benefitting from the new competition we are bringing to the market.”

He added that there is a pressing need for increasing refining capacity.

“Despite steady demand from an expanding food processing sector, overall refining capacity in both Canada and the United States has been stagnant for years, especially in Ontario, where the demand for sugar is growing at one of the fastest rates in North America,” Taylor said.

Ontario’s food and beverage manufacturing sector — the third-largest in North America — has manufacturing revenues exceeding $48 billion. It has over 45,000 establishments employing over 104,800 people, according to a statement.

The statement also highlighted Sucro Can’s commitment to improving its customers’ supply chains. HOPA Ports said it was a key factor in selecting the Port of Hamilton as the ideal location for the new refinery.

“HOPA Ports is thrilled to be working with Sucro Can to make this historic investment a reality. The new refinery in the heart of southern Ontario’s food processing cluster has access to marine, rail, and highway transportation options. The facility’s new capacity and reliability will give Ontario food processors the confidence to invest in their own operations,” Ian Hamilton, president and CEO of HOPA Ports, said in a statement.

Among Lisa Thompson, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Filomena Tassi, the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario and MP for Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath, discussed the impact of Sucro Can’s expansion.

“Hamilton is proud to be chosen as the home for what will soon be Canada’s largest sugar refinery. I look forward to working with SucroCan Sourcing and HOPA on this important new facility and ensuring this $135-million investment helps Hamilton continue to shine as the centre of Ontario’s vital food cluster,” Horwath said.