Here in London we have used the Thames right from the start and
it’s still very important to us.
All our raw material comes in through the river and our exports leave that way too.”
Joe says the refinery can take delivery of up 1.1 million tonnes
of raw sugar cane every year,
from countries such as Belize,
but the current figure is nearer
the 600,000-tonne mark. That steady reduction has been
blamed on Tate and Lyle Sugars’ ongoing battle with the EU
import duties on cane sugar.

The jetty at Silvertown continues
to do a brisk business nevertheless, with raw cane
sugar being continually unloaded by a giant, Dutch-made slewing crane. The cane is processed and stored in a huge warehouse where it is then taken to make the variety of sugar/sweetener products Tate and Lyle Sugars is famous for.

Inside, the story is one of a technologically advanced,
fast-moving and efficient business using the River Thames to deliver tonnes of raw cane sugar that is turned into the sugar and various products on British shop shelves.
Joe is crystal clear on how
important the Thames is to Tate
and Lyle Sugars.

He says: “Many of our refineries throughout the world are on rivers like this one – In Brindisi, Italy, and Lisbon, Portugal, for instance.

Tate and Lyle Sugars on the tidal Thames, with its twin chimneys, busy jetty and unmissable blue signage, has been a familiar site on London’s waterway for more than 130 years. Tidal Thames News spent a day being shown round the site, learning how the refinery and its staff, including Packing Operations Manager, Joe Holmes, do their best to keep things sweet.

Europe’s largest sugar refinery dominates the aptly-named Silvertown in the east London borough of Newham. Exit the DLR at London City Airport and you’re immediately struck by the factory which sits atop a short slope overlooking rows of houses like something from Britain’s industrial past. Get a bit closer and the sweet aroma emanating from the site calls to mind the unforgettable castle of confection from a well-known Roald Dahl book.