In 1988, the Fiji Sugar Corporation marked a significant milestone in its expansion efforts with the inauguration of the largest crusher in Fiji at Labasa Mill, as reported in The Fiji Times on August 26 that year.
The crusher, costing $1.8 million, was the first enhancement to the mill’s crushing setup since its inception in 1894 by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company. The Labasa Mill was the third of four mills constructed in the country, following Penang and Rarawai.
The crusher was purchased from Puna Mills in Hawaii in late 1987 after that facility shut down due to extremely high production costs. FSC engineers traveled to Hawaii in 1987 to dismantle the equipment, which was then shipped to Labasa for reassembly under their supervision.
This development was part of a $42 million investment designated by FSC for upgrading the mill since acquiring it from CSR in 1973. During this time, the corporation allocated a total of $130 million over 15 years to enhance all four mills.
Improvements to the Labasa Mill included the installation of bulk sugar storage and port facilities at Malau, a modern boiler, a completely new feeding station, additional evaporators, and other essential machinery. The Malau facilities facilitated efficient and economical crushing of cane while storing and shipping sugar effectively.
Featuring 84-inch rollers, pressure feed rollers, gearings, and a 1000-hour turbine drive, the new crusher is similar to the existing ones but larger in size. Chairman Lyle Cupit noted that while the new crusher would result in a modest increase in overall throughput, it would nonetheless have a meaningful impact.
The crusher aims to enhance the extraction of sugar juice from bagasse, boosting efficiency from the current 5 percent to an estimated 3.5 to 4 percent. Additionally, it ensures operational continuity; if one of the three existing crushers were to fail, the crushing process could continue without interruption.
Construction of the new crusher commenced in early March 1988, overseen by Sheik Ahmed, an engineer from the corporation’s headquarters in Suva, and Jack Sinclair from Lautoka Mill. FSC plans to install a similar crusher from Walkers of Australia during the upcoming off-season to replace the existing number three crusher.
With these updates, Labasa Mill will feature the largest and most advanced milling train among Fiji’s sugar mills. The three existing crushers, originally installed in 1894, have undergone numerous modifications to enhance their crushing capacity to accommodate increased sugar cane production.
Once operational, the new crusher will enable Labasa Mill to process 1.2 million tonnes of cane over a 30-week season, averaging approximately 400,000 tonnes of cane per week. Cupit expressed that adding this crusher was a source of pride for both the FSC and the sugar industry.