5 November 2007 - Processing at the giant Domino Sugar refinery in Baltimore will partly resume Friday, one week after the plant was shut by an explosion and fire, a company officer said Monday afternoon. The plant should return to full operations soon thereafter, possibly on Saturday or Sunday, he added.
"The explosion was centered in the mills which produce confectioners' sugar," said Stuart FitzGibbon, manager of the refinery. "We're trying to determine the cause." Talk that sugar dust caused the fire is speculation, he said.
New and repaired equipment will be certified as able to withstand and prevent a future occurrence, he also said.
Ron Frey, human resources director at the plant, said an inspection Friday by the city and the company found the building structurally sound. The 86-year-old waterfront plant was built with thick walls and concrete floors.
The Baltimore plant has a capacity of 6.1 million pounds daily and runs five to six days a week, FitzGibbon said. Because the fire was localized and quickly contained, sugar for processing was unharmed, he noted. The plant continues to ship finished products from one of its on-site storage areas and from several off-site facilities.
The refinery's products range from individual-sized packets of sugar to five- and 10-pound bags for supermarkets as well as liquid sugar and bulk granulated sugar for candy, food and drink makers.
Domino Sugar and a Yonkers, N.Y., plant, are owned by Florida Crystals Corp. and the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida under parent company American Sugar Refinery Inc.
Domino's Baltimore plant processes sugar brought in from other countries. The company also owns a similar-sized refinery in Chalmette, La., which mostly processes domestic sugar. Anther company-run plant is located in Crockett, Calif., using imported and domestic raws.
Friday's explosion blew out windows and started fires on three floors. Employees were evacuated, and the fire was soon brought under control, with no serious injuries reported. Three hundred employees work at the site, with 175 there at the time of the explosion.
Managers and unionized workers repaired and cleaned the property within eight hours of the event, FitzGibbon said.