Our first outing of the year was a guided tour of Cantley Sugar Factory.
After a little confusion we were welcomed by Andy in their conference room for a detailed introduction to health and safety, we then put the appropriate clothing on, steel toe capped boots, safety glasses, hard hats and high vis jackets.
We started our tour of this huge factory which started it’s life in 1912. In 1972 ‘Silver Spoon’ was launched as the retail brand of granulated sugar produced by British farmers. The process of producing sugar is a complicated process passing through several stages before it is stored in the six huge silo’s. Between 500 and 600 farmers grow sugar beet for processing.
Cantley works closely with the other sugar factories. Sustainability is at the forefront of British sugar production, with nothing going to waste the co-products of this endeavour are top-soil, aggregates, animal feed, electricity, soil conditioning limex, bioethanol and horticulture. Their processes result in almost zero waste of which they are very proud.
We returned to the Conference room after climbing stairs, walking along gantries, where there was a welcome cuppa awaiting.
From the archives a huge ledger book dated 1913 listing all the items required for producing sugar and their cost, various magazines were of interest and a photo album of Cantley in the 1960’s.
An interesting and energetic evening which was enjoyed by all who attended.