Triveni Engg to increase sugarcane crushing capacity this fiscal

Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd (TEIL), an integrated and diversified business conglomerate and a large sugar manufacturer in India, will increase its sugarcane crushing capacity to 63,000 tons per day (TCD) within the current financial year.

According to Vice President and Managing Director of TEIL, Tarun Sawhney, the company, which also manufactures high-speed gears and gearboxes besides being a major player in the water and wastewater management business, will come up with two more distilleries for ethanol production.

Council approval

“We will boost our capacity. At present, it is priced at C$61,000. (Last week) the board approved a 2,000 TCD expansion of our Sabitgarh unit (in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh), which will bring the total crushing capacity of Triveni to 63,000 TCD, “He said.

Triveni Board has approved a capital expenditure of Rs 850 crore. 90 percent of the expenditures will take place during the current fiscal year. Of the Rs 725 crore planned expenditure, Rs 100 crore will be spent on power transmission business. The balance ₹ 625 crore will be divided with ₹ 460 crores towards distilleries and the remainder towards sugar.

The company, established in 1932, is trying to take advantage of the Uttar Pradesh government’s policies towards setting up ethanol manufacturing facilities. “So, we have four distilleries. Two more are coming from 66 KLPD (kiloliters per day) to 110 KLPD. It’s very vital. The other thing, of course, is the introduction of multiple feeds so we don’t compromise on the ethanol blending program,” Sawhney said.

Multiple feed distilleries

About 65 percent of Trevini’s distilleries – which has 6 cogeneration plants producing power from bagasse, the leftover of sugarcane crushing – will be multi-feed in the near future. Varieties that are not multi-nutritive will be converted to those that can accommodate other grain options. He said that during the 2022-23 fiscal year, 30 percent of the ethanol produced by TIEL, which operates 104.5 megawatts of grid-connected cogeneration capacity, was produced from grain.

Triveni, which produces high-quality multi-grade crystalline, raw, refined and pharmaceutical sugars, has rolled out three more initiatives apart from its expansion plan at its Sabitgarh plant. “One is to further improve efficiency allowing us to operate at approximately 63,000 TCD levels. I think next year or next season (October 2023 – September 2024) will really see us operate at that high standard.”

The second aspect is converting more plants into refineries and adding more pharmaceutical sugar capacity. This will enhance the company’s profitability. “The third is to add infrastructure. We need more storage facilities, better warehouses and technologies. This is a very important aspect,” he said, adding that this will be done through digital technology.

5 year plans

TIEL, whose sugar business accounted for ₹4,464.72 crore in the nine months ended December 2022 out of a total of ₹4,491.81 crore, has reached 5-year plans with the company midway through its first five-year plan. “Next season is when we’re going to see huge earnings because it takes time to scale, and then you see the benefit and then those cascading benefits take you on an accelerating trajectory,” said the company’s vice president and managing director.

Digital transformation is the cornerstone of Triveni’s transformation and includes software and applications that enable better, more accurate and practical solutions in real time.

The company, which owns the Chajun sugar brand, works with 3.5 growers, and digital technology is paramount to them. He said the company will use geospatial imaging and drones not only to estimate yield but also to detect pests and diseases.

Part of its digital technology initiative will be to change the varieties of sugarcane, used by the farmers from whom it obtains its sugarcane. “We are looking for the next two years. We will change to not just one variety but 2-3 varieties in addition to testing 5 more varieties,” he said.

El Nino effect

The initiative is not only about developing sugarcane and cultivars for the next 2-3 years but over the next 7-10 years. The whole perspective, Sawhney said, is a medium and long term perspective.

On the impact of El Niño, which is expected to start later this year, he said India would export sugar and meet ethanol requirements even in the “worst case”.

Referring to the changing weather patterns, Sawhney said that only better agricultural practices such as wider spacing, deeper planting, better plant monitoring and good watering can help improve yield along with the use of the right amount of pesticides and pesticides at the right time.

Responding to a question, he said that the Indian sugar sector has overcome the five-year cycle that usually affects the industry. “I think this cycle has been cut short because of the Center’s fantastic, aggressive and futuristic ethanol blending program. It’s about understanding that farmers’ incomes will only increase through higher yields,” said the company’s vice president and managing director.

He said all of the “tremendous increase” in farm income has come through increased yields and “that’s something we’ve seen with wonder varieties all over the country” over the past few years.

The importance of India

On India becoming a major supplier in the global sugar market, Sawhney said the country is the “true leader in world prices”.

If India does not export sugar next year, global prices could skyrocket. India’s role in the global economy has never been more important than it has been over the past two years and it will be over the next few years.

India has painstakingly created markets for its sugar and it must participate in them. “Our withdrawal from the market would be a big step in my opinion. To be honest, I see a deficit that would keep prices stable internationally.”

On the other hand, consumption in India is slow and the industry is not seeing the 2-3 per cent growth seen in the pre-Covid era, said VP and Managing Director of Triveni which is equipped with the latest technology equipment. and analytical laboratories.