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MAHUVA SUGAR
www.mahuvasugar.com C O R P O R AT E B R O C H U R E
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With 30 years of experience, Mahuva Sugar knows of sugar. However, it is also focused on keeping the
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Mahuva Sugar
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ahuva Sugar was founded in 1961 at Mahuva in India’s Gujarat Province, and is a producer of quality cane sugar for both the domestic market and export. The company operates as a co-operative, in common with all Gujarati sugar producers, and sources its raw materials from local farmers. In addition to producing sugar, the factory also produces molasses, bagasse, rectified spirit and ethanol.
Mahuva Sugar
While Mahuva Sugar was founded in the early 1960s, it did not begin commercial production until 1981, as it was required to wait for the sugarcane plants to mature. The first season’s output was a modest 1,250 tons of cane per day (TCD). In December 1983, only two years after it first began production, the capacity of the plant was increased to 2,000 TCD. A further expansion in November 1991 brought the factory up to its current output of 3,500 TCD. Despite its impressive and rapid growth during its first 10 years of commercial production, over the past 20 years, Mahuva Sugar has been unable to increase its capacity further, predominantly due to a shortage in the availability of sugarcane crop. In order to overcome this challenge, the company has been working with local farmers to help them
improve their production techniques and resolve the problems they also face. The Mahuva Sugar factory is located in a very rural area of Gujarat, with most of its suppliers operating on a very small scale. Consequently, there are problems related to a lack of skills among these local farmers. In order to address these issues, in 2008 the company implemented a pilot project aimed at upskilling local producers in new methods of cultivation and familiarising them with new innovations and technology. The initiative also provides healthy sugarcane seed material, micro-nutrients and organic fertiliser to the farmers. Finally, it teaches them techniques such as drip irrigation systems and how to use pair row planting methods.
Mahuva Sugar
Through the pilot programme, the company will be able to increase the yield and quality of sugarcane, without needing to increase the acreage used in the cultivation process. Once the pilot project has been completed, the business hopes to have built a closer relationship with its farmers and to be in a position to increase its output once more. To ensure the success of its products in the market, Mahuva Sugar oversees all its marketing, packaging and distribution inhouse. This culture of quality assurance also extends to its suppliers: while the company is able to source its sugarcane through local farmers and packs the final product itself, it has to buy in the packaging to do so. In order to ensure that the supply is reliable and of uniform quality, Mahuva Sugar only awards long-term contracts after ensuring that the contractor can meet the company’s high expectations. In addition to the fabrication of sugar, molasses, bagasse, rectified spirit and ethanol for sale to clients, the company is also looking to expand its business into power generation. Current plans are for a co-generation plant that will produce 10 to 15 MW/h, which will serve all the needs of its fabrication plant. Additionally, the cogeneration plant will create enough energy to add some back into the state power grid. Thus the project will allow Mahuva Sugar not only to reduce costs by eliminating the need to buy in energy, but will also allow the company to earn extra income. There is also a distillery section of the factory, which the company is considering bringing in to the same co-generating strategy once the initial project is up and running. Sugar production in India is overseen by the government in the form of the Directorate of Sugar under the Essential Commodities Act. This act requires that 10 per cent of
the company’s sugar output is given to the government-run Public Distribution System for delivery to the local populace. The remaining 90 per cent is available for sale both on the domestic and export market. While the company’s largest market is India, the two main destinations for its produce outside of India are Dubai and Somalia. Ecological, sustainable and community initiatives are all very important for Mahuva Sugar. At the production stage, the company is introducing its farmers to organic fertiliser and encouraging its use wherever possible. Additionally, on its factory premises, the company is planting trees every year and establishing a green belt area surrounding its factory campus. This type of project is encouraged in the wider community too, by sponsoring the planting of tree plantations by nearby farmers and educational institutes. Mahuva Sugar has also taken responsibility for the development of the community in which it operates, by setting up services such as hospitals and also providing local farmers with fertilisers through a charity trust. Mahuva Sugar’s tight control of all aspects of its business, from production through to packaging and distribution, is the key to its continuing success. Initiatives such as its upskilling project have allowed it to secure its supply of raw materials for decades to come in an efficient and sustainable way that has also benefited the local community. The power generation scheme will also ensure energy security while reducing the factory’s carbon footprint. In short, it is the modern, innovative approach of Mahuva Sugar, combined with the attention it pays both to customers and suppliers, that means the company will be supplying both India and the world with sugar for a long time to come. http://mahuvasugar.com/ BE
MAHUVA SUGAR
www.mahuvasugar.com