Business Tools as an Aid to Trade

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AL KHALEEJ SUGAR, DUBAI, UAE

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BUSINESS TOOLS AS AN AID TO TRADE PROJECT/CASE STUDY

As part of the above project I had taken up a case study of M/s Al Khaleej Sugar, Dubai, UAE, (hereinafter refereed to as AKS) one of the largest sugar refineries of the world to get an insight into their operations and how they use some of the business tools like Warehousing, Transport, Insurance, Banking, Marketing etc. for their day to day operations to maximise their productivity and efficiency

I would like to thank Mr. Suresh Krishnamurthy, Senior Manager Shipping and Logistics, AKS for providing me his valuable time and inputs to complete this project at such a short notice

Here's the overview/profile of M/s AL KHALEEJ SUGAR(AKS) to given an overall idea about this company before we proceed with the actual project work

COMPANY VISION, MISSION AND CORE VALUES

Vision

* Our vision is to be the BEST VALUE PROVIDER of quality sugar and services.

Mission

* Al Khaleej Sugar is a cane sugar refiner with the objective of meeting or exceeding the needs and expectations of our customers.

* We are committed to produce Sugar which is natural, safe and healthy for human consumption.

* We are dedicated to improve the growth and profitability of the company and ensure a safe, harmonious and challenging working environment for our employees.

Our Values

We believe the following values to be fundamental in our relationships

* Integrity

* Concern for the Environment

* Health and safety

* Respect for the individual

* Commitment to Customer Satisfaction

* Improved Communication and Team Work

Company Profile

Established in 1992 and operational since 1995, Al Khaleej Sugar Company (AKS) has been successful in placing itself at the very top of the Pyramid of all Standalone Sugar Refineries in the Globe. This was achieved within the span of 11 years of operation only!

The Refinery is strategically located in Jebel Ali Port, to serve the Middle East, Asian Sub-Continent, African and Far East Markets. The refinery has is own berth (220 metres long) for unloading raw sugar from ships.

The company added substantial capacity for raw sugar storage in 2004. A dome shaped store with a diameter of 176 meters and a height of 84 meters, is the largest structure in the world for such usage. With the addition of this new raw sugar store, the total storage capacity of raw sugar has increased to about 1.2 million MT.

The company produces refined sugar of highest quality compliant with the norms specified by European Economic Community 2 (EEC-2).

AKS produces three types of refined Sugar (Fine, Extra fine and Coarse) and one animal feed by-product (Sugar Syrup). AKS products are regularly exported to over 40 countries, including the regional countries in the Arabian Gulf Region. With a current daily production capacity of over 4,800 MT of Refined Sugar, AKS has already reached the status of being the Largest Stand Alone Sugar Refinery in the World. With the expected completion of the current expansion projects, it will be able to produce 7000 MT of Refined Sugar per day by the year 2007.

Currently AKS contributes to 2.4 % of the worldwide production of Refined Sugar. Thus, AKS is competing on the international market of refined sugar and is now virtually one of the largest sugar refineries of the world

ORGANISATION CHART

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QUESTIONAIRE AND AKS RESPONSES

As part of the project I had prepared a sample questionnaire which was discussed with one of the senior executives of the AKS team and based on the responses given the answers are summarized as under.

When was the company established?

1995

What was your initial capital investment?

5million AED

Can you state the main objectives and Vision of your company?

To be a world class refinery in the shortest possible time and to become a leader in the industry

What are the main products that you are indulged in producing?

White refined sugar, fine sugar, coarse sugar and extra fine sugar variety

Where do you obtain your raw materials from?

Raw sugar from Brazil in bulk form

Can you mention about the process used in converting raw materials

Into finished products and what is the time taken?

Produce and refine about 4500 M. TONNES per day

PROCESS CHART is as under

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PROCESS

Our Refinery applies the Carbonation process of purification of Raw Sugar. The refinery operations are controlled by D.C.S. (Distributed Control System) through a central control room. To view the Animated Process Flow Diagram please see the above picture

Raw sugar is received in bulk in ships, unloaded by shore based cranes and conveyed to the raw sugar stores.

MELTING

The Raw sugar is withdrawn from the raw sugar store to be melted with water in the sugar melter under controlled pH, Brix and temperature, and then screened (to remove large size foreign insoluble materials).

CARBONATION

The melted, screened liquor is treated with measured quantity of milk-of-lime, and then sent to the carbonation columns,