Bundaberg Sugar Limited (BSL) will close its Bingera sugar mill before the 2021 crush as it looks to streamline its operations through its Millaquin Mill.
The Bingera mill has been in operation since the late 1880s, and receives cane from around 160 kilometres of company-owned cane railway network.
BSL CEO Guy Basile said that the 2020 BSL crush, including growers’ and its own cane, was down from 1.8 million tonnes in 2016 to just over one million tonnes, and as a result, will now look to build the business through Millaquin milling operations and its refinery.
“One thing has become clear – the Bundaberg region tonnage figures of the past years, including the 2020 crush, cannot justify BSL running two mills in the region,” said Basile.
“To have two sets of fixed costs associated with milling operations is not sensible or sustainable when, due to global and national market forces which drive all business there has been a transition of land, which previously produced cane, now produce higher-value crops. At the current crop size, BSL mills are operating at around only half capacity.”
The Millaquin site has also had a recent upgrade, with BSL investing “tens of millions” into the site, which is “more than capable of catering to the needs of the local crush at its levels in 2021 and ongoing,” Basille said.
BSL has said it is also looking to invest in a retractable bridge, which will be able to transport cane from local growers’ and BSL land over the Burnett River.
BSL COO Gary Nixon said the opportunity is a solution-focused approach to creating a consolidated milling model that will work for all growers, while having the same delivery points and bind supply as before.
“We have for some years now been working on this project with the state government and Bundaberg Regional Council to finalise approvals and to seek assistance with government funding,” he said.
“In addition to the substantial investment in Millaquin Mill six years ago, there will be further factory upgrades prior to the 2021 season to ensure that it can handle the anticipated cane crushes of the coming years.”
BSL is now in consultations with staff and unions as a result of the consolidation of its Bingera mill.
“We are part of this community, we care about local jobs and BSL is here for the long haul,” said Basille.
