The Northern German plants of Nordzucker AG, Brauns chweig, have now brought the 2013/2014 beet campaign to an end with respectable results. The Clauen and Schladen plants concluded their processing on 3 and 4 January, with Nordstemmen, Klein Wanzleben and Uelzen following yesterday, 5 January.
This year’s campaign lasted f or a total of 102 days (previous year: 135). At 11 tonnes per hectare, the average sugar yields are significantly below those of the two outstanding previous years (13). Very late sowing as a result of bad weather as well as a rela tively cold and damp spring adversely affected the beet vegetation. Nevertheless: “Compared with our expectations following initial lifting tests in August, there was a satisfactory increase in beet i n the Northern German fields, both in terms of mass and sugar content,” explains Volker Bückmann, Senior Vice President Beet Procurement Central Europe.
In addition, the excellent beet quality right to the end of the campaign and the plants’ good preparatory work meant that processing at the plants could be maintained at a very high level thr oughout the campaign. Dr Michael Gauß, Managing Director for Central Europe, is very happy: “All of our investment projects complet ely lived up to expectations.” For example, the silo in Uelzen was completed on schedule in time for the start of the campaign and has since been filled with new sugar.
The revised juice purification in Clauen and the wastewater modifications made at the Nordstemmen plant likewise resulted in improvements and a lightening of the load in each case. “Everyone in the entire production chain once again worked together perfectly, from our farmers to our clamp maintenance people, the hauliers and those who received and processed the beet at the plants. Everyone involved therefore deserves our gratitude and recognition, because they have all played their part in the generally good harvests in this campaign. Our warehouses are full and we are in a position to supply our customers with all the different qualities they need,” Dr Gauß summarises.
