Plan B - High hopes for low-tech solution

Maryborough growers are hoping a newly constructed second cane transfer site at Isis Central Sugar Mill will be the key to getting their season back on track, after a multi-million dollar transloader facility at Childers failed to live up to early expectations.

The original transloader, built specifically to transfer Maryborough cane from truck to rail for delivery to the mill, will still handle the bulk of supply, with growers hoping it can continue to process at its current rate of around 3,000 tonnes per day. The remainder, about 1,500 tonnes, will be handled at the new, lower-tech transfer site at Isis mill.

"The new loading site at the mill will basically see cane brought in by truck and tipped onto a concrete pad. From there it will be scooped up and loaded into bins for transfer into the factory," CANEGROWERS Maryborough manager Cameron Waterson said.

"It's not perfect, but it will allow us to get the crop off and crushed and finish the season on schedule - weather and breakdowns permitting. We can then look at addressing the issues with the transloader and hopefully have it fully operational for next season."

While the automated transloader worked well during limited preseason trials, when the season started it quickly became apparent that the mechanism was struggling to handle real world conditions with the harvested cane, leading to long delays and excessive haulage costs as trucks backed up waiting to be unloaded.