Sugar Manufacturing
The story behind UCL’s sugar production.
Sugar Production
Our Voyage into Sugar Production
In 1958, a decline in demand for wattle extract products prompted the company to assess the feasibility of utilizing its extract factory during the winter months for sugar production.
After successful trials and subsequent government approval, a sugar cane factory with a capacity of 54 tons per hour (TCH) was established in 1966, featuring the first bagasse diffuser implemented in South Africa.
By 1975, the facility underwent incremental expansions, reaching a capacity of 120 TCH, and replacing the original bagasse diffuser with a BMA “chain type” cane diffuser.
The next expansion occurred at the end of 1990, increasing capacity to 150 TCH and raising the annual sugar cane crush to approximately 800,000 tons per season.
Following multiple expansion phases beginning in 2021, the factory is now capable of processing sugarcane at a rate of 220 TCH, which amounts to 1.4 million tons per season, making it a major contributor to the South African Sugar Industry.
We produce sugar under ISO 9001, HACCP, Kosher, and Halaal certification standards.
- ISO 9001
- HACCP
- Kosher
- Halaal
Key Facts
- The factory handles both bundle cane and spiller cane, with storage capacity for about 6,000 tons of bundle cane in its cane yard.
- Each day, the facility processes roughly 5,000 tons of cane, yielding approximately 590 tons of VHP Brown sugar and 200 tons of molasses.
- Most of the sugar is sold locally in bags weighing 1.2 tons, 25 kg, and 12.5 kg, while any surplus is exported through the South African Sugar Association.
- The site also includes a packing facility that produces form fill and seal bags in 500 g, 1 kg, 2 kg, 5 kg, and 10 kg sizes, along with toll packing services for other sugar brands.
- In terms of storage, there’s a silo capable of holding 400 tons of bulk sugar as well as a warehouse with space for 33,000 tons of bagged sugar.
- Both the Wattle Extract and Sugar factories share support services for steam, electricity, and water.
- Additionally, the spent bark from the wattle extract process and the cane bagasse (fiber) left over from sugar production are utilized as renewable fuel sources for generating power and steam.
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