ABOUT US
The Company’s Business Operations
Central Azucarera de Tarlac was incorporated in 1927 and renewed in 1976. It operates a sugar mill and refinery, distillery and carbon dioxide plants in Barrio San Miguel, Tarlac City. The sugar cane milled is sourced within the Tarlac district and nearby towns of Pampanga.
Products and By-Products
Raw and Refined Sugar
The Company’s sugar mill and refinery has a capacity of 7,200 tonnes cane and 8,000 50-kg bags per day respectively. The sugar cane is initially processed to produce sugar of which 31% represents the company’s mill share, 69% belongs to the planters. Most of the raw sugar produced is further processed in the refinery to produce refined sugar. For the refining process, tolling fees are collected from customers’ upon withdrawal of refined sugar from the Company’s warehouse. In addition to raw and refined sugar, the mill and refinery produces molasses, a by-product. The molasses produced in the mill is likewise shared between the mill and the planter using the same sharing ratio while the refinery’s molasses production is solely owned by the refinery.
The mill’s raw sugar sales and the refinery’s tolling fees represents about 58% and 23% respectively, of the Company’s total operating revenue for the last three years. The raw and refined sugar produced is generally sold to industrial users thru traders. The company normally operates for about 5 to 6 months while the refinery, about 8 to 9 months.
Alcohol
The combined captive molasses of the mill and refinery is processed further in the distillery to produce alcohol. The distillery has a production capacity of about 65,000 gauge liters per day. The various types of alcohol regularly produced and sold are rectified spirits (purified alcohol), absolute alcohol and denatured alcohol. These alcohol products are sold to various reputable distillers of wine, manufacturers of alcoholic beverages and the small portion goes to producers of pharmaceutical products.
In addition to alcohol sales, tolling fees are also earned from various distillers whose molasses are processed by the distillery. In the last three years, the distillery’s contribution to the Company’s operating revenues was about 16%. The distillery normally operates for about 4 to 5 months of the year in tandem with the refinery operations.
Carbon Dioxide
The slops from the distillery are captured by the carbon dioxide plant to produce liquid carbon dioxide also in tandem with the distillery. The plant has a capacity of 30,000 kilos per day and normally operates for about 4 to 5 months of the year. Carbon Dioxide sales account for about 3% of the Company’s total revenues in the last three years. The carbon dioxide produced is usually sold to industrial users.