Pune: The Someshwar Cooperative Sugar Factory, known for its strong performance in sugar production, power generation, ethanol manufacturing, and financial management, has been recognized with the prestigious Best Operational Efficiency Award at the national level. This award was announced by the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF), making it the fifth major honor for Someshwar in the past year.
National Recognition for Excellence
The NFCSF awards are given to sugar factories across India that demonstrate outstanding performance in various aspects of operations. The selection for 2023-24 was carried out by a committee chaired by the Joint Secretary of the Union Ministry of Cooperation. Someshwar was chosen from the High Recovery Zone for exceptional overall performance and was granted the Annual Efficiency Award.
The selection was based on multiple parameters, including:
Sugar production efficiency
Power co-generation capacity
Ethanol and alcohol output
Financial and technical performance
A Streak of Prestigious Awards
This latest national recognition adds to a string of awards won by Someshwar recently. The Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI) previously honored the factory with:
Best Financial Management in Maharashtra
Best Financial Manager Award
Best Technical Efficiency in the Central Region
Best Executive Director Award
Additionally, the Co-Generation Association of India named Someshwar the Best Co-Generation Project in India for its 100% efficiency in power generation.
Factory chairman Purushottam Jagtap and Executive Director Rajendra Yadav credited the award to:
Strategic guidance from Ajitdada Pawar
Strong support from cooperative members
Efficient teamwork by officers, laborers, and the transport network
Record-Breaking Performance in the Last Season
During the last crushing season, Someshwar achieved:
Sugarcane crushing of 15.23 lakh tons
A high sugar recovery rate of 12.21%
Production of 18.26 lakh quintals of sugar
Payments to farmers at ₹3,571 per ton
Additional incentives of ₹75 to ₹200 per ton for late-season sugarcane
Key Reasons Behind the Award-Winning Performance
Farmers consistently received high rates for their sugarcane
Technical capacity utilization was at an impressive 110-115%
Operations had minimal stoppages
The sugar recovery rate remained consistently high
The distillery project achieved 150% operational efficiency
The co-generation project functioned at 100% efficiency
Someshwar ranked No. 1 in India for Plant Loader Factor and Topping Cycle Efficiency
Sugar production costs were only ₹357 per quintal, while overall processing costs were ₹545 per quintal
Interest costs on working capital were kept at just ₹65 per quintal
