SRA and QUT invite milling managers and staff to attend this year’s Regional Sugar Milling Research Seminar in their district. Each year SRA and partner, QUT, conduct these seminars to update sugar milling technical staff on progress and findings of SRA-funded milling research projects. Check out the program and RSVP today!
Program – March/April 2026
8.00am – 8.20am – Opening:
SRA District Manager – District Productivity Plan highlights
8.20am-8.50am
Thermo-digester for Rapid Conversion of Mill Mud
Chengyuan (Stephen) Xu, Professor of Tropical Cropping Systems,Charles Darwin University
8.50am-10.00am
SRA Research & Development Update by SRA Program Manager
10.00am-10.20am – MORNING TEA
10.20am-10.40am
Technical updates from QUT – Geoff Kent
- Greenhouse gas emissions from sugar factory boilers
- Reducing factory exposure to lead fumes and dust and welding and cutting fumes
- Cane train driver simulator software development project
- Cane bin tracking and electronic consignment of cane – fully funded by DPI and managed by SRA
- Billet quality assessment
10.40am – 11.00am
Technical update from QUT – Hakan Bakir
Enhancing juice clarification performance
11.00am-12.15pm
Technical updates from QUT – Geoff Kent and Darryn Rackemann
- Australian sugar industry training – development of factory training modules – Phase 3
- Use of machine learning to determine the extraneous matter and billet length in cane consignments
- Improvements in pan control strategies
- ISSCT conference (Cali – Colombia)
- ISC conference (Marrakech – Morocco)
12.15pm-12.45pm – LUNCH
12.45pm – 1.30pm
Technical updates from QUT – overview – Darryn Rackemann and Geoff Kent
1.30pm-1.55pm
Open Discussion
- Hot topics from the day
- Feedback
1.55pm-2.00pm
Conclusion & closing remarks – SRA District Manager
Dates and locations
Mackay
8am – 2pm Tuesday 24 March
SRA Mackay, 26135 Peak Downs Highway,Te Kowai
Townsville
8am – 2pm Wednesday 25 March
Townsville Yacht Club, Southbank
South Johnstone
8am – 2pm Thursday 26 March
South Johnstone Bowls Club
Bundaberg
8am – 2pm Monday 30 March
Lakeside Room, Millaquin Mill
Broadwater
8am – 2pm Wednesday 1 April
Training room, Broadwater Mill
STILL TAKING RSVPs for seminars not yet held.
Sugar milling technical staff who wish to attend should contact their managers who will be gathering RSVPs for your company.
For more information contact: Chris Walker cwalker@sugarresearch.com.au
