The maple syrup business in Vermont is booming as a result of increased production and investments from out-of-state firms. Sweet Tree Holdings, the largest single-source maple operation in the world, was formed in 2013. Owned by Montréal-based Fiera Comox, Sweet Tree produces value-added maple products under the Maple Guild brand. At its massive Island Pond factory, more than 100 employees use four stainless-steel evaporators to process sap from almost half a million Essex County trees, generating about 6,000 gallons of syrup per hour.
We visited the Sweet Tree facility for a tour with Joey Russo, its chief operating officer, who we first met in 2013 at his sugarhouse in Belvidere. Joey has been boiling the sweet stuff for over five decades and has a passion for syrup. We also visited Sweet Tree’s Warren’s Gore pumphouse and sugarbush.
Shooting date: 4/7/19
Music: Kevin MacLeod, “Sugar Plum Breakdown” [original composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]
This episode of Stuck in Vermont was made possible by
New England Federal Credit Union
![Silloway Maple [SIV528]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/episode528.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
This article appears in Apr 10-16, 2019.
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I visited Sweet Tree Maple a few years ago for Maplerama. Very impressive facility.