A long-haul road transport and cane handling system at South Johnstone mill

A landlocked cane assigned area, grower diversification, and the ever increasing pressures of urban subdivision were the scenarios put to a strategic planning committee at South Johnstone Mill in early 1993. The committee's brief was to examine all available options and to select the one most suited to overcome a declining cane supply for South Johnstone Mill. In the past, South Johnstone had used road transport to carry cane from the Warrabullen area to the mill, a distance of about 20 kilometres. However, this system was not cost effective and was subsequently replaced by extensions to the mill cane railway system. With this history and present-day sugar industry economics, it was essential that any new road transport system would have to place considerable emphasis on maximising cane delivery, minimising road truck delays while at the same time keeping operating costs to a minimum. This paper outlines South Johnstone's approach to maintaining access to a supply of cane by applying an innovative, common sense approach to the design of a cane road transport system.