Wilmar Sugar Australia releases crop estimates for 2024 crush harvest
Wilmar has built and delivered the first of four new $2m cane-train locos ahead of what is expected to be a bumper North Queensland sugar harvest. See the photos.
News
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Wilmar Sugar Australia has built and delivered the first of four new $2 million cane-train locomotives ahead of what is expected to be a bumper North Queensland harvest.
Burdekin Cane Supply Manager John Tait confirmed the Alma was now at Inkerman Mill with a second, Kirknie, slated to arrive by the expected start of the production season in June.
He said the two additional locomotives, Leichhardt and Hinchinbrook, were earmarked for the Herbert to haul cane bins during this year’s crush.
The new locos are modelled on the Brisbane, which Wilmar designed and built from the ground up and launched in the Herbert River last year.
Mr Tait said the Alma was an exciting new addition to Inkerman’s fleet and would have a positive impact on reliability.
“Inkerman Mill has an ageing fleet and, although our current locos do maintain reliability, Alma will be pivotal in improving the fleet’s overall cane-hauling capacity,” Mr Tait said.
Senior Project Engineer Chris Weight has managed the final phase of the new builds.
“The works program has included four new locos and two brake wagons, worth about $9M in total,” he said.
“It was a big undertaking to complete all of the new builds in a single maintenance season, and I’m really proud of the teams who have worked so hard to deliver this package of work.”
The new locomotives are part of a larger program to upgrade the fleet across Wilmar Sugar and Renewables’ four milling regions.
Wilmar owns and operates 74 locos and more than 1,600km of cane rail network across the Herbert, Burdekin, Proserpine and Sarina regions.
General Manager Cane Supply and Grower Relations Ian Davies said Wilmar’s eight sugar factories were expected to process a total of 15.59 million tonnes of cane this season, up on last year’s total of 15.02m tonnes.
He said the biggest increase was in the Burdekin where the crop was estimated at 8.47m tonnes, up from 8.04m tonnes last year.
The Herbert region’s crop is slightly up on last year’s at 4.1m tonnes.
Mr Davies said the Proserpine crop was estimated at 1.7m tonnes and Plane Creek (Sarina) at 1.32m tonnes.
“This year’s growing season has been wetter than predicted; It’s too soon to know what impact this may have on the crop.”
He said Wilmar planned to start production at its four Burdekin mills on June 4.
“In the Herbert region, we plan to start up at Macknade Mill on 11 June, with Victoria Mill coming online a week later on Tuesday 18 June.”
Mr Davies said Proserpine Mill would start on June 11.
“We’re consulting with grower representatives in the Sarina region about the start date for Plane Creek Mill.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Wilmar Sugar Australia releases crop estimates for 2024 crush harvest
FULL LIST: Your guide to NQ candidates in the 2024 State Election
As campaigning gears up ahead of October 26, check out who is hoping to win your vote in the electorates across Townsville and beyond PLUS where to vote early >>
‘I never have people criticise me’: Mayor lashes out at ‘election stunt’
Councillors voted to keep parking in the CBD, stop plans for meters at The Strand, and chose a permanent CEO as the mayor gave an update on his deadline to respond to a 12-month suspension notice.