The Sidney Holly Sugar plant has had many managers in its 75 years in the area. One of these managers, Don Lind, moved to the Sidney plant in 1974 to assume the position of factory manger, a position he held for the next 18 years until his retirement in 1992. In the 18 years that Lind served as manager, he saw a lot of changes at the Sidney factory, in the method of growing beets, and in the sugar beets themselves.

As manager, Lind had responsibility for all the day to day decisions regarding the processing of sugar beets, from the time the raw beets entered the factory until the granulated sugar left the plant in a truck or by rail. He had budget, coordinating and personnel responsibilities as well. "The only thing I did not oversee was accounting, the technical services and the ag department," Lind says.

Lind, no stranger to the sugar beet industry, started his career in 1948 at the Hardin Holly Sugar plant in Wyoming. He had the opportunity to assume the position of shift superintendent at Hereford, TX in 1964. From Texas, Lind then moved to Brawley, CA to work as assistant factory manager. He made his final career move to Sidney in 1974, to accept the position of factory manger, a move he enjoyed so much that he and his wife made Sidney their home.

When Lind arrived in Sidney in '74, the factory offices were not comfortable places in which to work. "The building was cold in the winter and stifling hot in the summer," Lind recalls. "We had no air conditioning, and in the summer, we had the windows wide open to try to cool the place down, and in winter, everyone had a heater on his or her desk trying to keep warm."

In '75, corporate office approved funds for office renovations. "We essentially gutted the place and started over," Lind remarks. "We put in a gorgeous technical services lab, got air conditioning, better heating and rewired the place." The company also built the shift supervisor's office and added the ag department office. "By the time we finished renovating," Lind says, "of all the offices at all the plants outside Hereford, we had the nicest offices of any other plant."

Lind points out that the Sidney Holly Sugar plant consistently expanded its processing capabilities. In "68-'69, prior to Lind's arrival, the plant embarked on its 4,000-ton project. "This 4,000-ton project allowed the factory to go from a 2500 ton slice daily to a 4,000-ton daily slice," Lind notes. "This was a huge expansion, and it set the stage for expansions during my tenure there. The factory always implemented something new every year, but this 4,000-ton project set us up for future expansion efforts."

Lind himself saw constant expansion while he remained as factory manager. "We went through numerous phases of expansion over my 18 years there. We were always doing something to improve the refining process," Lind says. "The biggest expansion, however, was in 1984."

The factory saw tremendous changes in 1984.. Factory officials instituted most of these changes in efforts to decrease the enormous expenditures associated with energy costs. "Our largest expense by far was the cost of energy," Lind recalls. "We used to have a gas bill of nearly $1 million every month. Processing sugar beets is a high energy consumption process."

He adds, "By the time we got done with the energy saving changes, we had reduced our fuel bills so substantially that we spent for the entire campaign what we used to spend in one month for energy."

To accomplish this, the Sidney plant converted two of its four gas-fired boilers to a coal-fired operation. Steam acts as the primary source of heat for the factory process, so company officials added more evaporators, more heat exchangers, and devised ways to reuse steam heat wherever possible. "We did all these things to reuse heat," Lind points out. "In short, we became energy efficient."

Lind witnessed a huge increase in women on the Holly staff during his 18 years as manager. When Lind began his duties at Sidney in '74, women worked as clerks or in accounting and the labs. "You rarely saw women on the main factory floor," Lind comments. "By the time I left in '92, we had women doing all jobs, and doing those jobs well."

The shortage of sugar storage space plagued the factory for years. After Lind retired, the company and the growers built the sugar storage silos on the Holly premises. Lind feels the formation of the Rocky Mountain Silo Company greatly benefited both company and growers. "Sugar storage was a huge problem before they built those silos," Lind says. "The silos are an extremely important addition, something we needed badly for many years."

The concept of early harvest began during Lind's tenure. "We started early harvests in the '80s," Lind says. "We wanted to handle more beets, but we also needed to finish the slice by mid March to avoid spoilage. This meant start an early harvest to ensure we'd have all the beets processed by spring."

Lind also witnessed changes in grower methods as well as changes in the sugar beet seed itself. Growers have increased plant populations, use better fertilizer management, have access to better seed, and use improved equipment to handle the beets. "I think the methods and the equipment the growers use to handle beets has changed as much as the factory equipment used to process beets has changed," Lind remarks.

The key to agricultural and business success lies in cooperation. Lind points out that it is essential for Holly Sugar and the growers to maintain a good working relationship. "It's important that the company and the growers continue to work well together," he stresses. "Cooperation benefits everyone, and is the key to success."

Lind feels he spent many excellent years with the Holly Sugar plant in Sidney. He can only remember one bad year out of his 18 on the job at Sidney. "I can recall one very bad year in the '70s when a lot of beets spoiled in the piles," he says. "That year, a little bit of everything went wrong. It's the only year we lost money."

Lind believes the credit to these good years belongs to the plant and its personnel. "Sidney has first class, hard working people," he says. "Not only are the factory workers top notch, but the area also has some of the best growers in the country. Sidney has the best I've seen anywhere. Sidney is exceptional."