The last of Wilmar's eight mills has crushed out, bringing the 2021 season to a close.
Wilmar's Plane Creek Mill at Sarina processed the last of it's cane just after 10.30pm on Sunday December 12, with the final raw sugar expected to be produced this this week.
Wilmar Sugar's general manager operations Mike McLeod said 14.6 million tonnes of cane had been processed between the eight factories this season, resulting in the production of about two million tonnes of raw sugar.
The throughput was down on last year's 14.9 million tonne crop, with seasonal conditions impacting harvest.
Mr McLeod said Wilmar employees across the Herbert, Burdekin, Proserpine and Plane Creek mills were now preparing for a big maintenance season works program.
"Wilmar is maintaining a high level of investment in its mills and cane supply network, with more than $187 million being spent on maintenance and capital replacement projects in 2022," Mr McLeod said.
Mr McLeod said a majority of the focus would be placed on the evaporators, pan vessels and boilers.
"In the lead-up to the 2022 crush, we'll be installing a new pan vessel at Macknade Mill in Ingham and the first of four evaporators at Kalamia Mill in the Burdekin," he said.
"We'll also be spending $4.6 million on upgrades to the air heater on Proserpine Mill's No.3 boiler, and $1.5 million on Inkerman Mill's boiler station, ahead of a complete replacement of the Inkerman's No.1 boiler furnace in 2023 at a cost of $10.3 million."
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