Sterling Sugars

What Sterling Sugars does

Sterling Sugars, LLC is a Louisiana-based raw sugar producer headquartered at 611 Irish Bend Road, Franklin, LA. Founded in 1807 (originally as Sterling Sugar & Railway Co. LTD) and historically operating the Caffery Central Refinery built in 1890, the company today specializes exclusively in the production of raw sugar from Louisiana sugar cane, having exited the refining stage of the value chain. Operations are scaled to process approximately 1.2 million tons of sugar cane annually, equivalent to a daily average throughput of 12,750 tons.

The company is privately held and operates as a subsidiary under M. A. Patout & Son, LTD, LLC, which assumed leadership of Sterling Sugars in 1994. Its business model centers on industrial-scale agricultural processing: Sterling purchases or contracts cane from regional growers, mills it into raw sugar, and sells the output into the commodity raw sugar market. The company does not refine sugar itself, indicating a deliberate focus on a single, upstream stage of the sugar value chain. Contact and corporate communications are routed through Franklin, LA.

Revenue mechanics are commodity-driven: Sterling's earnings are a function of cane throughput, sugar recovery rate, and prevailing raw sugar prices. There is no indication in the input data of branded retail products, direct-to-consumer channels, or differentiated pricing models. The company's customer base, distribution channels, and pricing terms are not disclosed in the available material.

Name

Sterling Sugars

Legal name

Sterling Sugars, LLC

Website

https://sterlingsugars.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1807

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Sterling Sugars, LLC is a Louisiana raw sugar producer (founded 1807) that processes approximately 1.2 million tons of sugar cane annually, operating under parent M. A. Patout & Son, LTD, LLC and serving the commodity raw sugar market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Raw Sugar Manufacturing

NAICS

Cane Sugar Manufacturing (311314), Sugar Manufacturing (31131), Sugarcane Farming (11193)

SIC

Sugar & Confectionery Products (2060), Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Cane Sugar (Raw & Refined) (AFAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sugarcane Farming (AFAGAEAA)

Keywords

• Raw sugar production
• Sugar cane processing
• Agricultural commodity milling
• Louisiana sugar manufacturing
• Sugar milling operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Franklin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Raw Sugar Sales: Sterling Sugars generates revenue through the production and sale of Louisiana raw sugar. The company processes sugar cane and sells the resulting raw sugar commodity.

Core offering

Sterling Sugars operates a single sugar mill in Franklin, Louisiana that processes approximately 1.2 million tons of sugar cane annually (daily average of 12,750 tons) to produce Louisiana raw sugar. The company has specialized exclusively in raw sugar production since discontinuing refining operations, and sells raw sugar as a commodity product into food industry supply chains.

Product overview

Sterling Sugars is a single-product raw sugar production company that specializes in processing Louisiana sugar cane into raw sugar. The company operates a single mill in Franklin, Louisiana, processing 1.2 million tons of sugar cane annually. No modular product architecture exists—production is centered on the raw sugar manufacturing operation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Louisiana Raw Sugar Raw sugar produced from sugar cane at the Sterling mill in Franklin, Louisiana, sold to food industry buyers for further processing or use in food manufacturing. The mill processes approximately 1.2 million tons of sugar cane annually (12,750 tons daily average).

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Direct peers

• Louisiana Sugar Cane Products, Inc. Louisiana raw sugar milling operation; comparable as a regional competitor producing raw cane sugar for the U.S. sweetener supply chain.
• Florida Crystals: Vertically integrated U.S. raw and refined sugar producer with cane farming and milling operations; comparable in raw sugar manufacturing and food industry supply.
• M. A. Patout & Son: Parent and operator of Sterling Sugars; M. A. Patout & Son runs sugar mills and cane operations in Louisiana, making it the most directly comparable Louisiana raw sugar producer.
• Cajun Sugar Cooperative: Grower-owned raw sugar cooperative operating a mill in Louisiana; same crop, geography, and end-product as Sterling Sugars.
• Cora Texas Manufacturing Company: Louisiana-based raw sugar producer operating multiple mills in the cane belt; directly comparable in raw sugar manufacturing, geography, and customer base to Sterling Sugars.
• U.S. Sugar Corporation: Large U.S. sugarcane grower and raw sugar producer in Florida; directly comparable in raw cane sugar manufacturing and scale of operations.

Broad incumbents

• Imperial Sugar: Long-established U.S. sugar refiner serving retail and industrial markets; comparable as a domestic sugar industry incumbent with overlapping customer base.
• Amalgamated Sugar Company: U.S. sugar producer (beet-based) supplying industrial and retail customers; comparable as a domestic raw sugar supplier in the broader U.S. sweetener value chain.
• ASR Group: One of the largest sugar refiners in the world (Domino, C&H); overlaps with Sterling via U.S. raw sugar sourcing and refined sugar supply to the same downstream customers.

Regional players

• Tereos: International sugar and ethanol cooperative with operations in Brazil and Europe; relevant as a global sugarcane processor with exposure to the same commodity dynamics affecting Sterling.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sterling Sugars