In a climate of increasing globalisation and high product development costs, it can be challenging for Sugar producers who are striving to provide competitive products, boost profitability and grow their business.
Sugar markets are becoming more complex which is why ABB strives to ensure an installed base performs at its optimum level. This, in turn, finetunes products and systems to squeeze out every gram of efficiency.
Automating sugar production process leads to high yields, uniform quality and high plant utilisation with minimised energy losses and environmental impact.
Sugar Application Library
ABB’s sugar application library can unlock the data that affects every job function in the sugar industry. It is a complete, consistent, and comprehensive software databank of all sugar process applications, extending from beet and cane to refined sugar.
The library comprises components for control and supervision. Each are complete functional units, ready for use and which can be adapted to specific user needs or process requirements. Each offers the sugar industry-specific advantages that help achieve the targeted outcomes and benefits. For instance, the library helps manufacturers increase operation efficiency and release manpower to focus on other important plant activities while safeguarding product quality.
Lowering Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
As electrical and steam consumption are among the sugar industry’s biggest costs, there are many energy-saving opportunities. Steam consumption can be calculated, monitored, and controlled to match the actual demand of individual parts of the plant. This can have a direct impact on the overall energy consumption, resulting in a 20 percent reduction.
While providing precise control of all applications, the sugar application library provides detailed process data that helps benchmark operational costs such as energy use.
Reducing Inventory Costs
In the sugar production industry, good cost and waste control is crucial to inventory management. To ensure an adequate supply of raw materials, work in progress and finished goods to satisfy the demands of customers, active inventory management is crucial. Having the right system in place minimizes stock out and shortages which could lead to costly interruption in operations.
Improving Quality, Reducing Variations and Errors
Turning data into accurate information ensures production is right first time while avoiding any variations in sugar quality and eliminating waste. ABB provides producers with a repeatable process which is key to maintaining consistent quality and maximizing the output from both processing and refining operations.
Maximizing Raw Material Traceability
To optimise production yield and improve plant efficiency, it is vital to deliver raw material traceability, while complying with the latest regulations. Sugar producers need to provide different insights into quality and safety, depending on the destination of the product.
Refined sugar, packaged as a final product to consumers, must contain records and test data that show complete traceability to satisfy regulators and retailers. Alternatively, when shipping raw sugar for refining, or sending bulk shipments for use as ingredients, then more detailed quality information will be required. This information will, in turn, form part of the supply chain’s quality record.
To read the full ABB Sugar Factory Automation and Optimisation Brochure visit global.abb/group/en
