Sugar Beet Processing to Restart at Fire Damaged Agrana Plant

The repair work to the sugar beet cossettes drying unit is ongoing as a top priority, with the aim being to restart operations within three weeks.

Sep 13 2011 --- Yesterday lunchtime, a fire broke out in the sugar beet cossettes drying unit of the Agrana sugar processing plant in Leopoldsdorf | Gänserndorf District (Austria) as a result of a power outage involving a process control system. The fire was extinguished by late afternoon. An initial conservative estimate indicates damage of around EUR2m.

Agrana will restart sugar beet processing by tomorrow at the latest. The repair work to the sugar beet cossettes drying unit is ongoing as a top priority, with the aim being to restart operations within three weeks.

Sugar beet cossettes are a by-product of sugar production. After being diffused, mechanically pressed and following the addition of molasses, the cossettes are dried in a drying drum, pelleted and ultimately sold as animal feed.