History

South Louisiana Sugars Cooperative (SLSC) is made up of three previously separate Cooperatives. The three Cooperatives which make up SLSC are Caldwell Sugar Cooperative, Glenwood Sugar Cooperative and St. James Sugar Cooperative.

In 2001 the three Cooperatives merged to form South Louisiana Sugars Cooperative. Following the 2001 crop, the Caldwell raw sugar processing facility, located in Lafourche Parish, near the town of Thibodaux, was closed in an effort to be more efficient and gain economies of scale. Significant improvements were made to the Glenwood and St. James factories during 2002 in order to process the sugarcane from the coop members.

In 2002, the state's sugar industry suffered through two storms and extremely wet harvesting conditions forcing the coop to further consolidate its operations. The Glenwood raw sugar processing facility, located in Assumption Parish, near the town of Napoleonville, was closed and further improvements were made at St. James. To assure the ability to process all coop members' sugarcane, an agreement with a local processor was made in 2003 until additional improvements could be made at the St. James facility. 

The St. James raw sugar processing facility has continued to modernize its operation and steadily increased its rate of production. The equipment at the Caldwell and Glenwood facilities has been for sale since the date of their respective closures. Although most of the equipment has been sold, a selection of equipment, particularly mills, pumps and turbines, are still for sale at these facilities.

The aerial photograph below is of the St. James facility taken on October 28, 2004.