The sugar factory in Mühlberg (Brottewitz), founded between 1872 and 1873, was a key industrial hub in the Elbe-Elster region for many decades. It processed around 13,000 tons of sugar beets annually from surrounding farmlands and provided employment for many local residents. In 1990, the factory was taken over by Südzucker AG. As part of a broader restructuring plan, Südzucker shut down the factory in 2019, marking the end of local sugar beet cultivation due to the uneconomical distance to other processing sites.