Tragedy of our times. Everyone takes sugar with tea / coffee daily so there's ready market to support local production but due to greed of a few people we have to import and create jobs elsewhere

https://www.standardmedi...ed-under-administration

Mumias Sugar Company National Shareholders Forum chairman Muthuri Nyamu urged the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to stop interfering with the Oparanya’s administration plans to help revamp the sugar firm.

Oparanya is a politician, besides maybe his need to help his people again maybe, helping the common mwanainchi is never that important.There is also a greater need to remain relevant politically. That's why this last minute administration nonsense decision should not be taken seriously. If anything the parallel shareholder group that was collecting views alongside Oparanya and Kimunya seems more sincere.

Pints are on me, when we meet. I'm still on this one.

Monday a new year begins, I still have alot of hope on this one.

One of their key steam plant units which was limping when they stopped would require serious repairs even if they got raw material tomorrow. How long would it take? I think the original manufacter was Actom John Thompson or Five Cails. Either boiler maker do not have off shelf spares for such units and they would require a lead time of not less than 6 months to have the parts on site. A further 4 months would be required to refurbish and commission. If that process started tomorrow, then the earliest MSc can resume crushing would be May 2020. I think it won't happen since there are no concrete revival plans available so far. There is a 99‰ chance MSc will produce less than 1 kg of sugar, less than 1 litre of ethanol and less than 1 watt of electricity in 2020.

No idea but apart from that unit and the process house which also requires some fixing, the plant is a good going concern. Challenge is who is ready to spend on it, what to do with it after fixing it in the absence of raw material. Of course good engineers, technicians and plant operators, most of whom were trained by Booker Tate, took off. Getting personnel to run and maintain the plant would also be a serious challenge.

Did their ethanol project ever get any momentum? I remember in 2013 they approached my office when I worked for a paints factory. They tried to convince my boss to substitute methanol for their ethanol. They did not get an order but I really wanted them succeed.

The mumias guys believed the ethanol was a good substitute but did not present their case well. They used a lot of chemistry lingo. I remember them trying to explain to my boss how there is just one extra carbon per molecule and my boss giving them a blank stare. Interestingly, the company had tried ethanol some few years back. One of the challenges that I remember my boss highlighting was the ethanol smell. I cant remember the other challenges but tomorrow I can ring my boss up just to confirm.