By Cedric Johnson, Gleaner WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
HAVING SPENT over $150 million on refurbishing and retooling, the management of the Frome Sugar Factory in Westmoreland is projecting that the 2003-04 sugar crop, which will start this Sunday, will yield 56,000 tonnes.
"We are ready to roll; everything is in place for the crop, which we're expecting to run for 22 weeks and yield approximately 56,000 tonnes of sugar," said Aston Smith, the factory's operations manager.
"We have pressure tested the boilers and have done trial runs on the entire factory operations and the results have proven satisfactory."
In an outline, the factory's management said it had done everything to ensure that the estates stand up to the cropping period, which is set to end on April 30, 2004.
"From the amount we have expended, $40 million went into capital acquisition while $110 million was directed towards maintenance," said Mr. Smith.
"We did a complete overhaul of the factory, literally dismantling and rebuilding it, utilising a considerable amount of spare parts in doing extensive repairs to all the roller mills."
The monies also financed the transformation of the processing operation into a fully automated system geared, he said, towards greater factory efficiency.
"I am confident that with the extensive repairs and the modifications carried out, we will produce 2,000 more tonnes of sugar this year over last year's figure, from the same amount of cane," said Mr. Smith. "I can guarantee this."
NEGATIVE EFFECT
OF THE RAINFALL
He noted that continuous rain had adversely affected last year's crop performance.
"I must admit that I am concerned about extraneous matter from the canes, getting into and damaging the mills," Mr. Smith noted. "It is a major problem and we have to educate all concerned of the importance of supplying clean cane, which is of good quality, to the factory."
TRAINED TO REPAIR
As a means of ensuring that the factory stands up mechanically, Mr. Smith said factory staff have been trained to do repairs on some equipment.
Foreign consultants were hired to conduct the training, which entailed seminars in areas such as welding and fabrication.
In a bid to ensure full operational efficiency, Mr. Smith said that come January, additional tractors and two mechanical harvesters would arrive in the island. The two harvesters will bring the factory's complement to seven.
"They will take care of 40 per cent of the canes to be harvested," said Mr. Smith. "At the same time, new bell loaders will be coming in to assist farmers in the elevated areas such as Lucea and Prospect, in Hanover."
