(AREA) — Michigan Sugar Company emphasized economic growth and partnership with local communities at their recent annual shareholder meeting in Bay City, while outlining key policy priorities in the coming year. The meeting closely follows a record sugarbeet production season and a recent announcement that Michigan Sugar will invest more than $125 million across its facilities at Bay City, Caro, Croswell and Sebewaing. According to Michigan Sugar CEO Mark Flegenheimer, when the company does well, they are able to create good jobs across the Thumb, invest in facilities, and boost the local economy in communities the company has called home for more than 100-years. Flegenheimer credited Michigan’s sugarbeet growers for embracing modern technology and best practices to continue boosting yields. Total production during the 2015 growing season topped 5 million tons of Michigan-made sugarbeets and yield also set a new record at 31.6 tons per acre. To handle the record crop, Michigan Sugar will employ more than 2,300 local full and part-time workers at the peak of production and processing, with more than 1,100 employed at its flagship facility in Bay City.
