A globally competetive producer of high quality sugar and allied products

History and Background of KSAIL
Kibos Sugar and Allied Industries Limited (KSAIL), is a Kenyan registered company based in Kisumu, located at Kibos, east of Kisumu in the Nyanza Province, West Kenya.  The company is owned by Mr. Ragbhir Singh Chatthe, Mr. Jaspreet Singh Chatthe, Mr. Sukhwinder Singh Chatthe. These three shareholders are seasoned entrepreneurs in the sugar business with their family being in the sugar business for over 70 years. They have in the past engaged in the transport of sugar cane and more recently set up the ultra modern sugar factory at Kibos with a crushing capacity of 1,650 TCD. Within three years, KSAIL’s production reached close to 100% capacity utilization. The shareholders have a clear track record for successfully operating the sugar mill as indicated by the operating and financial performance of KSAIL.

The Vision of KSAIL
The vision of the company is to be a globally competitive and unsurpassed innovator and producer of high quality sugar and allied products.

Mission of KSAIL
The mission of KSAIL is to maintain a competitive advantage by economical pricing, state-of-the-art technology and empowerment of its stakeholders through technology transfers, skills enhancement, knowledge, inspiration and motivation.  The company aspires to strengthen its commitment and partnerships so as to achieve and sustain long term growth and wealth creation for all stakeholders while maintaining high health and safety standards while embracing corporate governance practices.  Focus on differentiation and diversification of its products by investing in research, development and innovation; and adaption of environmentally friendly production techniques will reduce global warming.

Diversification of Product Base
Though the Kenya Government has managed to have the COMESA safeguards extended for another two years from December 2011 to December 2012, KSAIL’s plan of diversifying into various related businesses that will ensure the company remains relevant.  COMESA countries produce sugar more cheaply than local sugar. The Kenya Sugar Board also continues to encourage sugar companies to diversify into co-generation and ethanol production in anticipation of the lifting of the restrictions in December 2013.
KSAIL is actively pursuing the following:
a)    expanding its capacity to grow sugar cane and to encourage expansion of sugar cane in the western region; Our expansion plan involves the expansion of production of sugar cane in our nucleus estate by intensive irrigation, and improvement of our soils through use of waste products from the mill such as press mud which is a good soil conditioner and helps reduce the use of fertilizers. Separating the sludge from the sugar cane into process water and thicker sludge creates bio-fertilizer. Bio-fertilizer is an organic fertilizer that can be used in farming. It is alive with microorganisms and nutrients to help keep plants healthy. The filter cake mud can also just be dried after extracting it from the sugar cane to produce the same result.  Using it reduces our costs in purchasing fertilizer.  The bio-fertilizer is spread on KSAIL farms and farmers’ fields. Currently the company has over 600 employees and expects to increase this by approximately 50 once expansion plans for cane crushing are complete.  The project is already impacting positively in the lives of over 250,000 people in the region.
b)    expanding its cane crushing capacity from 1650 TCD to 3,500 TCD;
c)    increasing its cogeneration from 3MW to 19MW.  Kibos Power Ltd will also produce 107.14 TPH of steam to be used for various business lines including the expansion of the sugar mill described above, for production of ethanol; pulp and paper; Portland pozollana cement and for power generation;
d)    establishing an ethanol factory viz Kibos Distillers Ltd, to produce rectified spirit: 40,000LPD, anhydrous alcohol : 40,000LPD, extra neutral alcohol: 40,000LPD through continuous fermentation process with multi product distillation.  This will utilize its molasses and vinasse and also produce soda ash and fertilizer as by-products.  
e)    The company will also establish a pulp and paper production factory (Kibos Pulp and Paper Mills Ltd), that will require approximately 180,000 tons per annum of bagasse as its raw material, and produce approximately 45,000 tons of pulp per annum and 22,500 tons of paper per annum.  The factory will employ approximately 299 employees.
f)    KSAIL is also preparing to diversify into the production of cement, using fly ash from the factory, gypsum and imported clinker with a capacity to produce 45 tons of Portland Pozzolana cement.  An EIA Project Report has been prepared for submission to NEMA in order to process the statutory licenses and comply with the Law.
The idea is to ensure that all the by-products of sugar processing are utilized while the increase in electricity and steam will be utilized in the processing in all the entities mentioned above.  The company has already processed all the environmental impact assessment licenses and is gearing to commence construction of the facilities within its premises in Kibos in the coming months.

Focus on Best Practice and Sustainable Environment Management
In the establishment of the interlinked factories, KSAIL will be ensuring sustainable environmental management through turning all waste into raw material:
i)    Bagasse which is currently a difficult waste to dispose off will be used for the production of pulp and paper which is currently imported in large quantities.  This will reduce the use of forests for the production of pulp and paper and also ensure excess bagasse waste is profitably utilized to produce a valuable product for the country.  
ii)   The molasses will be utilized to produce ethanol which will be sold to oil refineries for blending with petrol to reduce fossil fuel emissions into the atmosphere thereby reducing climate change;
i)    By increasing its power and steam generation for purposes of using its own energy for its operations, KSAIL will be using green renewable energy and saving on the use of fossil fuel energy resulting in reduction in climate change.  Cogeneration ensures clean green energy which is cheaper than other sources of power generation.  The production of green power has an environmental profile superior to conventional power technologies and produces no greenhouse gas emissions. Producing power from fuel sources such as bagasse (a waste product from extraction of sugar from sugar cane), that restore themselves over short periods of time and do not diminish, produce biogenic CO2 emissions which are balanced by the natural uptake of CO2 by growing vegetation, resulting in a net zero contribution of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere.
iii)    Fly ash has been a waste product whose problems of disposal have been matching that of bagasse.  Utilizing it as a raw material for the production of cement will enhance environmental management and add value to it in production of cement which is currently in high demand by the construction industry.

Benefits of KSAIL Operations
The benefits of these operations are manifold:
ii)    Expansion of land under sugar cane and afforestation reduces soil erosion, absorbs carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, resulting in a cleaner environment;
iii)   The products like fortified sugar, ethanol, pulp and paper and Portland pozollana cement will bolster regional trade;
iv)   The modern technology in the region would be accompanied by technology transfer to the local community, and technical skills make for a more progressive population;
v)    Employment would be enhanced not only in KSAIL, and Kibos area but also in other trades that form the forward and backward linkages of our operations;
vi)    The provision of sugar into the market goes towards ensuring food security in the country, it also reduces shortfall in supply and demand thereby saving foreign exchange;

KSAIL is creating wealth and employment in the country and promoting economic empowerment of the local community, thereby alleviating poverty.  It intends to be a company that will be a show case of best practices and a trail blazer in development in its area of operations.  Its activities will ensure efficient employment of factors of production including labor thereby, contributing to the development of the country.  

Furthermore, the production of clean green energy by KSAIL’s Kibos Power Ltd (KPL) is in line with Vision 2030 to ensure Kenya moves towards cleaner energy, thus this is a preferential energy to be consumed. The Clean Development Mechanism allows emission-reduction (or emission removal) projects in developing countries to earn certified emission reduction (CER) credits also known as carbon credits, each equivalent to one ton of CO2. This will help KPL generate revenue through the sale of its carbon.

Currently, KSAIL is the most forward looking private sugar miller in the country and a trail blazer in the utilization of its wastes and by-products for the manufacture of other products, basically as a way of conserving the environment by producing zero waste, and secondly, by productively utilizing waste to generate employment and improve efficiency.  KSAIL will in the near future, be producing sugar as a byproduct of sugar cane milling and thereby, competing favorably with the COMESA countries in terms of price.