The Hindu Business Line : `Use of by-products crucial for Andhra Sugars success'

The success of Andhra Sugars, based at Tanuku in West Godavari district, is largely due to commercial exploitation of by-products and emphasis on maintaining quality coupled with stress on cutting down cost of production, according to Mr Mullapudi Harischandra Prasad, the Chairman of Andhra Sugars.

Mr Prasad, Founder of the Group, who was here on Wednesday for the inauguration of a jute factory, said in an interview that he had established Andhra Sugars at Tanuku six decades ago "at a time when there was not even electricity in what then was a very small village". He imported a generator.

Using by-products

A first generation entrepreneur from an agricultural background, he did not have the faintest notion of how to set up a sugar factory.

"Though I was very enthusiastic at that time, I did not have any knowledge and I was helped out by a relative who was a highly-placed official in the industries department of the composite Madras state. Along with him, I visited Germany and England and imported the required machinery," he said.

Over six decades, he said, Andhra Sugars has grown into a major group, selling a number of products ranging from sugar to rocket fuel.

"We exploit the by-products and produce a number of specialised chemicals, which in turn become raw material for other industries. Our success is due to exploitation of by-products and emphasis on quality. If any of our products is found wanting in the market place, we immediately withdraw it," he said.

Poor management

He said Andhra Sugars had set up another sugar factory at Taduvai in West Godavari and taken over a sick co-operative sugar factory at Bhimadolu, also in West Godavari district.

"We are striving to turn around the Bhimadolu factory. The capacity has to be increased to 4,000-4,500 tonnes per day. Otherwise, it won't be viable," he said.

WHY IT FLOPS

In response to a question, he said poor management was the principal reason for the sickness of many co-operative sugar factories in the State.

"For the success of a sugar factory, there has to be close co-ordination between the factory and farmers. The season has to be prolonged and the recovery rate has to be maximised," he said.

On the question of providing ethanol for blending with petrol to the extent of five per cent, Mr Prasad said it was a good move, which would result in saving of precious foreign exchange.

"But the oil companies have to pay a fair, remunerative price to sugar factories for ethanol. We also have a distillery at Tanuku. We are willing to supply ethanol, if that condition is met," he said.

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