SWEDEN – Swedish-based Nordic Sugar has invested US$22.7 million in a new silo to increase capacity and also increase the efficiency at its sugar factory in Örtofta.
The new silo can store up to 80,000 tonnes of sugar and will increase the efficiency of the entire production chain from production to energy consumption and logistics.
“We want to offer locally grown sugar to our customers. Therefore, we are specifically investing in the efficiency of our factories, in warehousing, logistics and product quality.
This is crucial, not least in view of the recent liberalisation of the European Union (EU) sugar market, which means that quota systems and minimum prices for beet disappear at the same time as export restrictions are eliminated,” said Katarina Silfversparre, managing director at Nordic Sugar.
“The investments in Örtofta are essential contributions to ensuring that Swedish sugar industry remains strong towards future challenges.”
The new sugar silo, together with heavy investments recently made to reduce the plant’s energy consumption by 30%, has seen Nordic Sugar invest more than US$47.7 million over the last five years in strategic projects to ensure the competitiveness of Swedish sugar production.
“The silo provides advantages to both environment and production. It means that less transports and re-loadings must be made and also provides a more even production in the service center.
As we can pack the sugar gradually, we do not need large stocks of prepackaged products,” said Olof Dahlgren, head of sugar factory at Örtofta.
“This fact provides another advantage; the silo makes it possible for us to efficiently ensure that our product maintains exactly the quality our customers want.”
Employing 147 employees, the sugar factory produced around 336,000 tonnes of sugar in 2016
