Media Release: 5th June 2020
Well, it’s “Ready, Set, Crush” as the New South Wales cane harvest and crushing season is set to start across the three Northern Rivers milling areas, with an estimated 1.6m tonnes of sugar cane expected to be harvested between June and November.
The northern-most sugar mill at Condong on the Tweed will commence crushing on Tuesday the 9th of June, followed the next day by the Harwood sugar mill on the Clarence. The Broadwater sugar mill on the Richmond has a later start date, with a commencement date of the 22nd of June.
All three sugarcane growing areas will see the fleet of new Mercedes Benz trucks hauling cane from farms to the factories. These new trucks not only deliver performance, reliability and fuel economy benefits, but they come with a range of state-of-the-art environmental and safety features. Safety features include adaptive cruise control and an automated emergency brake feature, which can automatically initiate braking for pedestrians, as well as lane keeping assistance and fatigue alert. Condong Mill area will also see the introduction of brand new Quad axle trailers, fitted with the latest safety features. These trailers are forecast to reduce the number of truck movements to the factory by around 17%.
“As the areas in which we grow sugarcane have become more populated, it is imperative we balance running costs and community safety”; said Sunshine Sugar CEO, Chris Connors.
In addition to an upgraded truck fleet, the state-of-the-art $9m warehouse at the Harwood Mill and Refinery has now been officially opened by Kevin Hogan MP. The modern facility has already proven itself to be a tremendous asset during a recent surge in product demand with many people staying home and doing more baking.
As an essential agriculture and food business, Sunshine Sugar has been operating with strict hygiene measures in place since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
As Mr Connors commented; “the procedures we have put in place have allowed us to maintain full production in our refinery to keep up with a spike in consumer demand. These procedures will remain in place, and flow through to the broader harvesting and milling operations.”
