All of Wilmar Sugar and Renewables’ sugar mills are back in production, following the recent wet weather stop.
General Manager Operations Mike McLeod said Kalamia Mill in the Burdekin was first to come back online, on Sunday night (30 June), followed by Inkerman Mill on Monday (1 July).
By Wednesday evening (3 July), all eight factories were crushing cane and producing sugar.
“It’s great to see all of our sites back up and running after last week’s wet weather stop,” Mr McLeod said.
“The growers and harvesting operators have done a great job of getting cane to the mills.
“And I can’t speak highly enough of the effort our own people have put in to get our mills operational and crushing cane.”
Mr McLeod said three of the company’s Burdekin mills now had full cane supply, with the fourth ramping up to full production as cane supply increased.
“The Herbert region is still a bit wet in parts, so we’re still building up to full cane supply at our two Herbert mills.
“Proserpine Mill had some teething issues at the start, but has settled in well, while Plane Creek Mill had one of its better starts in years.”
Mr McLeod said factories usually took up to a week to settle at the start of the sugar production season.
“This settling in period is normal and expected, and is something we’re prepared for,” he said.