Operations Management

Assignment III

SUGAR

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

By

Ajay Yadav (S005)

Submitted to
Prof. Rajneesh Mahajan

1
Sugar Manufacturing Process

1. Sampling
On arrival, a sample of the sugar beet is taken from the load and
tested to measure the sugar content and to determine the amount
of soil, tops or leaves present in the load.
These analyses, combined with the weight of the vehicle entering
and leaving the factory, enables the calculation of the quantity of
sugar delivered and hence the payment due.

2. Cleaning
Floats in water and in the cleaning stage of the process it is moved
around in large quantities of water, allowing the Sugar beet to pass
through machinery which 'catches' stones but allows the beet to
float over the top. Weeds and other trash are also removed before
the beet enters the factory, where it is sliced into thin slices called
'Cossettes'

2
3. Slicing :
The slicing machines work in a similar manner to a kitchen grater
and the cossettes they produce have a 'V' cross section.This
ensures the largest possible surface area is presented to maximise
the sugar extraction stage.

4. Diffusion :
Sugar is extracted from the beet by diffusion. This process takes

3
place in a large vessel and in simple terms is akin to brewing tea
The cossettes are mixed with hot water at around 70C for a period
of time and the sugar simply passes from the plant cells into
the surrounding water by the diffusion process.
The vegetable material left behind from this stage is mechanically
pressed to extract as much remaining sugar and water as possible
and, after the addition of molasses, is dried to produce animal feed
products. It is this drying process which gives rise to the familiar
plume of steam rising from the factory. The liquid resulting from the
diffusion process is dark in colour and is called raw juice.

5. Purification :
This juice is passed through an important purification stage called

4
carbonatation. This involves mixing the juice with milk of
gas. During lime and adding carbon dioxide this process, the carbon
dioxide and the milk of lime re-combine to produce calcium
carbonate which precipitates out, taking most of the impurities from
the juice with it

6. Evaporation
The pale yellow juice which remains is called thin juice and while
much purer it is still relatively low in sugar content. It passes to the
next stage of the process - evaporation - where the water is boiled
off in a series of evaporator vessels to increase the solids The
concentrated juice passes through filters, after which it is ready for
the final stage of the process; or it can be stored and brought back
into the factory during the summer to produce crystal sugar.
massecuite - is spun in d to storage silos. some sugar remains in
the separated liquid so it is boiled again in a further set of vacuum
pans to produce raw sugar. This process is repeated a third time
resulting in final product sugar and molasses. Raw and final product
sugars are re-dissolved into the thick juice. content of the juice
from the previous 16 per cent in thin juice to 65 per cent in the
thick juice.

The concentrated juice passes through filters, after which it is ready

for the final stage of the process; or it can be stored and brought

5
back into the factory during the summer to produce crystal sugar.

7.Crystallization
The crystallization process takes place in vacuum pans which boil
the juice at lower temperatures under vacuum. When the juice
reconcentration it is 'seeded' with tiny sugar crystals which provide
the nucleus for larger crystals to form and grow.
When the crystals reach the desired size the process is stopped and
the resultant mixture of crystal sugar and syrup - known as
centrifuges to separate the sugar from the 'mother liquor'.

The sugar crystals are washed and after drying and cooling, are
conveyed to storage silos. Some sugar remains in the separated
liquid so it is boiled again in a further set of vacuum pans to
produce raw sugar. This process is repeated a third time resulting in
final product sugar and molasses. Raw and final product sugars are
re-dissolved into the thick juice.

6
7
CONCLUSION

One of the Leaders in the Indian Industry

The sugar industry in India is highly fragmented with over 500
sugar factories. We are amongst the three largest producers of
sugar in India based on sugar production in Sugar Year 2003-2004
derived from ISMA Working Results of Sugar Factories in India,
2003-2004. We manufactured 0.38 million tonnes of sugar in the
Sugar Year 2005.

Strong Financial Position

We have a strong financial position, which we believe will enable us
to finance our capacity expansion plans. As of March 31, 2005, we
had a long-term debt to equity ratio of 0.72: 1 and total debt to
equity ratio of 2.74:1. In fiscal 2005, we have net cash flow from
operating activities of Rs. 1,414.42 million.

Strategic Location of Mills

All of our manufacturing facilities for sugar production are located in
the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and the two largest sugar
mills at Khatauli and Deoband are located in western Uttar Pradesh,
which is one of the largest sugarcane growing areas in India. As a
result of our presence in the state of Uttar Pradesh, we benefit from
the following advantages.

Proximity of Sugarcane Deficient Markets

Our sugar mills are located close to the sugarcane deficient markets
of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and
West Bengal. Thus, our primary markets are located close to our
manufacturing facilities and we do not rely on transporting our
sugar to distant markets, which gives us a comparative advantage

8
in distribution costs of this bulk commodity.

Excellent Rrelationships with Farmers

We make timely payments to sugarcane farmers and have built
excellent relationships and goodwill with them, which is an
important factor in our industry. We have a good record of
payments to farmers for sugarcane despite the cyclical nature of the
sugar industry and have strong ties with approximately 167,000
sugarcane farmers.

Extensive Network for Sugarcane Collection

In order to facilitate the sale of sugarcane to us by the sugarcane
farmers, we have established a extensive network of more than 350
collection centers in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where the
sugarcane is collected by us and payments are made to farmers.
These collection centers are located in our sugarcane area and
hence, the farmer is not required to bring his crop to our factory
gates.

Good Product Quality

The sugar produced by our sugar mills in Khatauli and Deoband is
bold grained and is rated as one of the better qualities of sugar
produced in western Uttar Pradesh. This enables us to command a
premium on the sugar produced by us.

9
10