The food industry is always the most resistant to competitive changes in the market, since the demand for products in this area is stable. There are several highly profitable industries. One of them is the production of granulated sugar. It can be considered a promising and profitable type of business.
About sugar production
Sugar production is a fairly large food industry. It has about 320 enterprises. They specialize in the production of products, which are divided into sugar and refined sugar.
As a rule, sugar refineries are localized near the sowing sites of sugar beets and operate seasonally. Sugar production at modern enterprises is quite large-scale. So, in large and well-equipped factories, up to 6 thousand tons of beets can be processed.
Refined sugar production involves the production of lump sugar or refined granulated sugar. Such plants are located in large cities and can operate year-round.
Sugar Features
Both refined sugar and granulated sugar are high-quality food products that are characterized by a sweet taste. In addition, it is almost pure sucrose. It can be easily and completely absorbed by the body, allowing you to quickly restore lost energy.
It is a disaccharide, which, under the influence of enzymes, breaks down into glucose and fructose. In addition, sucrose readily dissolves in water and forms oversaturated solutions. With increasing temperature, its solubility increases.
Sucrose may be crystalline or amorphous. If we talk about the chemical structure, then sugar is a weak polybasic acid which, when reacted with alkaline or alkaline earth metals, gives compounds called "sugars."
It should be noted that due to fructose, invert sugar is hygroscopic, therefore, it slows down the hardening of bread, prevents the process of sugaring jam, and also prevents marshmallows, marmalade, fudge or other confectionery products from drying out.
Sugar Market Analysis
The production of granulated sugar always remains promising, since sugar has been and will remain a commodity of prime necessity. It is always in stable demand, which does not pass.
It should be noted that the sugar business is characterized by rapid growth. This is due to the reconstruction of plants and an increase in their production capabilities. In addition, you can notice the positive dynamics of sugar consumption by the population.
So, if you specify statistics, then a person consumes about 20 kg of this product per year, not counting the amount that is part of other goodies. And although doctors do not recommend consuming a lot of sweets, believing that this negatively affects health, the general functioning of the body and can lead to diabetes, the demand for sugar is not reduced. That is why a quality business plan for a sugar factory is a good opportunity to organize thoughtful production and make good profits.
Features of the business plan of the sugar factory
From a technological point of view, the production of granulated sugar is a complex and time-consuming task that requires expensive equipment, significant financial costs, as well as a large number of professional workers. To competently enter the sugar industry and successfully implement it, you need to clearly find out all the features of this business. For this, they make up a sugar mill business plan.
This is an extremely important document that can determine the future of the enterprise. It is with the help of him that they find out the profitability of the plant, its ability to obtain investments and be in demand, as well as the level to which it will be possible to increase production. Errors in the calculation are unacceptable, since the opening of such an enterprise requires significant investments.
The volume of risks depends on the cost of equipment, rental of premises that will be used as warehouses, as well as on the costs of launching the production itself. Significance is the purchase of the necessary raw materials, obtaining various permits, as well as the size of wages.
Key points in the sugar mill business plan
To open a new sugar production, you need to make calculations depending on the market situation and the characteristics of the work process. It should be noted that a business plan is at least 3 years old and is constantly updated. It is recommended to collect the following information:
- General information about the project and the sugar market. It is necessary to determine what are the relevance and prospects of opening the plant. Analysis of the market, demand and competitive environment, the assumption of profitability are also of great importance.
- Definition of mission and strategy. For the production to be successful, a mission should be formulated, which is the social idea of the future company, as well as a strategy - an action plan that will help achieve the goals.
- Clarification of the list of all necessary documents.
- The financial part. All costs and planned profits should be determined.
- Sugar production line.
- Finished product marketing strategy.
- HR policy.
Raw materials for the sugar business
For the manufacture of sugar, such raw materials are used:
- sugarcane, which is most actively used by enterprises in Brazil, Cuba and India;
- sugar beet - beet sugar production is widespread in the USA, Russia, Germany and France;
- palm juice - used in Southeast Asia;
- starch rice - malt sugar is produced in Japan;
- sorghum stems - sugar from this raw material is made in China; It should be noted that it does not have competitive advantages when compared with beet or reed.
If you specify the types of sugar according to the manufacturing method, then emit raw sugar. These are single crystals of sucrose. There is also icing sugar. These are carefully crushed sugar crystals. As a rule, powdered sugar is used in the confectionery industry. The main type can be called granulated sugar. It is sucrose crystals with dimensions of approximately 2.5 mm. If a product is made from a very pure substance, then they talk about refined sugar.
Features beet root vegetables
Sugar beets are an important component in the production of sugar. It is a biennial plant that is drought tolerant. In the first year, root crops with a powerful root system are grown. The next year, new leaves rosettes appear, as well as stems with flowers and seeds.
It should be noted that in the production of sugar root crops are used only in the first year of development. They are fleshy and highly densified sections of the root system, have a cylindrical shape. The weight of the root crop is on average 200 grams. Its pulp consists of microscopic cells that perform various functions. The outer tissue is protective, called the periderm. The main tissue is the parenchyma, which accumulates beetroot juice in its cells. It is rich in sucrose and other dissolved substances.
It should be noted that the structure of beet parenchymal cells is structural. They have a shell that consists of fiber. Its walls have a semipermeable protoplasm with proteins and surround a vacuole containing beetroot juice. They do not allow dissolved substances from it, therefore, in order to get sugar from beet cells, the protoplasm should be warmed up to the temperature at which its proteins coagulate.
Features of the chemical composition of beets
The quality and quantity of products that are obtained from the special processing of sugar beets depends on its chemical composition. The ratio of the various components, in turn, depends on the seeds used in the cultivation, as well as on climatic conditions.
Generally speaking, sugar beet contains 75% water, the rest is dry matter. If we recalculate to 75 kg of water, then 3 kg retain colloids, and 72 kg act as a solvent with 17.5 kg of sucrose and 2.5 kg of non-sugar compounds. There is an important indicator - the purity of beet juice. This is the percentage of sucrose to dry matter.
As a rule, the first number (this indicator is sometimes also called sugar content) ranges from 15-22%. This means that the average sucrose content in beets is 17.5%.
If you indicate the solids content in the finished product, then their share in sand sugar is 99.75%, and in refined sugar even more - 99.9%.
Production stages
The production of granulated sugar is a peculiar process, which is characterized by the following stages or stages:
- sugar beet supply, its cleaning from various impurities;
- obtaining sugar chips and diffuse juice from it;
- purification of the resulting liquid;
- thickening the juice by evaporation;
- cooking massecuite and obtaining sugar in the form of small crystals;
- drying and cooling of granulated sugar and its subsequent storage.
So, the process of sugar production from beets includes washing and cleaning, weighing and cutting into chips, which are placed in a special diffuser. Here is the extraction of sugar from the plant mass using hot water. In this case, diffusion juice with sucrose, as well as pulp, is obtained. This is beetroot chips after the extraction stage, which can be used to produce animal feed. Next are the stages that allow you to clean the diffusion juice and get sugar crystals.
How to get sugar crystals?
After the diffusion juice is obtained, it is mixed with lime in a saturator. Next, the resulting solution is heated and carbon dioxide is passed through it.
As a result, filtration takes place, at which "purified" juice is obtained. Sometimes ion exchange resins are used at this stage.
Then such a “purified” juice is evaporated, obtaining a syrup containing 65% sugar, and crystallization is also carried out in special vacuum devices at 75 ° C. In this case, massecuite of the first crystallization is obtained.
It is a mixture of sucrose and molasses, which falls into the mixer, the distributor and centrifuges. Sugar crystals that remain in the last device are bleached and act on them with steam, resulting in the usual crystalline sugar.
It should be noted that the production of sugar from cane is characterized by a similar technological process. The difference is the absence of an extraction stage (cane is simply squeezed out), as well as the method of purification of the obtained juice (it is treated with significantly less lime).
Beet Sugar Production Equipment
To establish sugar production, you need to purchase a set of specialized equipment. With it, you can prepare beets for further technological process.
This set of equipment includes:
- sugar lifting plant;
- hydraulic conveyor;
- sand, tops and stone traps;
- water separator;
- beetroot washing machine.
If sugar equipment is specified, the main line of machines includes the following:
- conveyor equipped with a magnetic separator;
- beet slicer;
- Libra;
- diffuse installation;
- screw press;
- drying for pulp.
In addition, in the production of sugar, filters, heating devices, saturators and sulfinators, as well as sedimentation tanks, defecation apparatuses are used. The equipment that is considered the most energy-intensive is a vacuum apparatus, centrifuges and evaporators with concentrators. If maximum automation of production is required, then a vibrocontainer, a vibrating screen, as well as a cooling-drying unit should be purchased.
Features of the purchase of equipment for the sugar business
Sugar production equipment can be purchased in several ways. You can make an independent layout from different machines (including non-specialized ones), buy a line of devices or a whole factory that was already in use, purchase a ready-made sugar manufacturing business or completely new devices. The first option is the most economical, but can only be used by people who are perfectly versed in technology.
A significant advantage of buying an inactive sugar factory is a developed infrastructure and a developed network of suppliers. But you should remember about a serious minus - it can have worn out equipment and be simply unsuitable for profitable production.
If you buy a new finished sugar factory, then you should carefully weigh everything, because the costs are rather big. Attention should be paid to the quality of the equipment, as the previous owner could greatly depreciate it even after several years of operation. For an optimal assessment of the technical condition of the machines, it is better to consult a specialist.
It is difficult to independently open a sugar factory because of too high material costs.
Features of the organization of sugar production
The best option is to organize a business, which provides for the establishment of output with a focus on a small city or even a separate urban region.
At the same time, a mini-plant for the production of sugar from beets can become an integral part of a profitable business. Subsequently, it will be possible to expand, going to a higher level and increasing production and marketing volumes.
It should be noted that almost everything is automated in sugar production, if you do not take into account the harvest and primary processing of root crops. That is why the issue of recruitment is not a priority.
The most important thing in this business is high-quality equipment, which would be characterized by durability and reliability, as well as a high level of production capabilities.
In addition, it must be remembered that when planning a sugar factory, one should take into account not only investments and income from the sale of basic products, but also the profit from the sale of waste generated during the production process.
Given all the features of the sugar business, a good income is guaranteed.
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