Gledhow mill celebrates 2015/16 crush

In spite of what is widely accepted as the worst drought in 100 years, Gledhow sugar mill was able to start crushing last week.

The mill celebrated the start of their 2015/16 cane crushing season with their traditional multi-faith ceremony on Thursday morning, April 16.

The opening of the Gledhow mill has had far reaching positive socio-economic effects, having led to job creation for cane cutters from the Transkei and enabling Sappi to resume pulping operations from sugarcane.

Sappi Stanger mill receives bagasse (fibre that is left over after sugarcane has been crushed) from Gledhow mill and makes paper from it.

Gledhow is the first mill on the North Coast to start crushing in the 2015/16 season while the opening of the Tongaat Hulett mills have been further delayed because of the drought.

“Compared to areas in the Midlands and north of the Tugela River that have had frost and hail in addition to the drought, we have a good story to tell,” said the Gledhow Sugar Company’s executive vice-chairman, Paul de Robillard.

The 2015/16 crush season has been dramatically affected by the drought during the 2014/15 growing period, yet De Robillard is positive that the mill will crush 900 000 tons of sugarcane and produce in excess of 100 000 tons of refined (white) sugar.

De Robillard said under normal conditions, Gledhow would crush 1,6 million tons of cane and produce 190 000 tons of refined sugar.

Check out our video here, where Gledhow started crushing cane.