Abstract

Balrampur Chini Mills, the largest sugar manufacturer in India, is also one of the most efficient producers of sugar in the country. High capacity utilisation rates, good recovery of sugar and a well-diversified business model with revenue streams from sugar, alcohol derivatives and power have kept Balrampur afloat even during the sugar industry's lean years. Balrampur has also been remarkably successful in acquiring inefficient sugar mills and turning them around. Once Balrampur acquires a plant, it invests heavily in automation, process development, and on upgrading the plant and equipment. Over the years, Balrampur has increased the scale of operations through both capacity expansion and acquisitions. In recent times, competition has been intensifying for Balrampur. At the same time, with many of the low hanging fruits having been plucked, there are no underperforming sugar mills suiting the company's requirements up for sale in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Balrampur's management is wondering what moves the company should make to build on the competitive advantages that have been created in the last two decades.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

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Keywords

Balrampur, Saraogi, De-risking model, By-product model, Sugar, Molasses, Ethenol, Business model, Turnaround strategy