June 2005

Praj acquires worldwide rights for fuel ethanol technology from Delta T, USA.

Accelerates Global Growth Strategy. In a major development in its growth strategy towards global markets, Praj Industries Limited, leading ethanol suppliers have concluded purchase deal for world-wide licence rights from Delta T Corporation, USA for molecular sieve dehydration technology for fuel ethanol production, on a non-exclusive basis. It may be recalled that in the Year 2001, Praj had entered into an agreement with Delta T for technology transfer licence of Molsieve based dehydration process in select territories, worldwide. The 2005 transaction extends Praj's rights to molsieve based dehydration technology for its use world-wide. "This is a move to consolidate Praj's global aspirations and enable Praj to penetrate growing developed markets, currently under exploration", said Pramod Chaudhari, Chairman, Praj Industries.

May 2005

Innovative bionutrient for the ethanol industry launched

Praj upbeat on the future Breakthrough orders in domestic and international markets Praj Industries Chairman, Pramod Chaudhari addressed a Press Meet in Pune today to update media on recent significant developments and offer guidance on business prospects for 2005-06. 'Mashtone' - Innovative new bionutrient for the ethanol industry launched Praj Industries' R&D facility Matrix- the Innovation Center has developed 'MashTone' an innovative new bionutrient for the ethanol industry. MashTone is a unique nutrient formulation for alcohol fermentation that improves the fermentation performance resulting in high rate of yeast metabolism, healthy growth and improved yield. It is particularly relevant today when raw material quality, due to acute shortage, shows varied characteristic affecting yields. "MashTone is one more milestone in the biotech capabilities and in our commitment to customer care as this product enables distilleries to seek higher returns from their investments while strengthening after sales service." Said Pramod Chaudhari. He added, " Mashtone has already been tried and tested in India on commercial scale with great success and plans to launch it in the international market are underway". Guidance on growth and profitability Close on the heels of a robust financial performance in the FY 2004-05 in which Praj Industries registered 100% growth in sales and a 150% growth in profit before and after tax over the previous fiscal, Pramod Chaudhari, Chairman Praj shared future guidance for the fiscal 2005-06. "We expect the topline to move up by approximately 35% in 2005-06, which should take the sales to over Rs. 300 crores or thereabouts. We could look at upto 50% increase in profitability. But, we will have more clarity on this in September/October 2005", said Pramod Chaudhari. It is also expected that exports will continue to form more than 50% of sales. In the FY 2004-05, the Total Income stood at Rs. 2350 million with a PBT of Rs. 281 million and PAT of Rs. 225 million. Exports form 60% of sales. "Confidence on the future growth is coming from the fact that we have substantial orders on hand and many in the pipeline", added Mr. Chaudhari. Breakthroughs in International & Domestic business Continuing on the growth performance of 2004-05, Praj has bagged several orders in the domestic and international markets, right in the very first month of current fiscal. On the international front, orders have come in from Nicaragua (Central America) for a 100,000 litres per day fuel ethanol plant; from Algeria for a Greenfield distillery based on sugar stream and from Philippines for beverage grade alcohol. In the domestic market also, orders have been received for production of fuel as well as beverage grade alcohol from cane molasses as also from grain. Praj technological expertise in grain spirit is now established in both domestic and in International markets. This adds to the orders on hand by taking it to more than Rs. 200 crores as on date, equivalent to 7-8 months sales. Scaling Up "We have scaled up operations to meet the increased demand. Apart from our current facility at Sanaswadi and the Export Oriented Unit in Markal near Pune we are adding the third manufacturing facility at Sanaswadi to address the growth numbers. The additional capex approved by the Board of Directors is around Rs. 100 million. A large part is also for IT system upgradation. This year we also expect to increase our manpower strength by about 25%. The addition will be mostly in the engineering and technical steams. All these preparations will help in Praj getting ready for a quantum leap in the future, plans for which are underway ", added Mr. Chaudhari. About Praj: Praj is a global Indian company that offers innovative solutions to significantly add value in alcohol and brewery technology and related wastewater treatment systems for customers in India and around the world. Praj is a Knowledge based company with expertise and experience in Bioprocess, design process and engineering. It delivers Know how and License, engineering design, project management, commissioning and customer care and turnkey projects. Led by an accomplished and caring leadership, Praj is a socially responsible corporate citizen.

October 18, 2004

Praj Industries Limited' (Praj) Announces launch of its breakthrough technology for Sweet Sorghum to Ethanol.

With increasing importance of fuel ethanol as petrol additive for reduction of transport fuel emissions, Praj was the first Company to anticipate and activate a programme for alternate energy crops. Following extensive R & D at laboratory and industrial levels, Praj has achieved success with high yielding variety of seeds as well as technological breakthrough for production of ethanol from Sweet Sorghum. Praj announced the launch of the technology at a seminar hosted in Chennai today. Praj has been conducting research into viable alternate feedstock for ethanol production at its R & D and Engineering Center in Pune Sweet Sorghum, Sorgo or Sweet Jowar is a crop whose stem contains sugar, much like sugarcane. However, it requires much less water to cultivate and process for ethanol production. Sweet Sorghum is also a short season crop and can be cultivated twice a year. Every part of sweet sorghum can be reused, including the trash as animal feed and bagasse as boiler feed. Pramod Chaudhari, Chairman, Praj, said, " Innovation has been the cornerstone of Praj. Our R & D facilities called Matrix - The Innovation Center was expanded in 2002 to focus on more productive processes and energy crops for fuel ethanol production. The findings we share with our customers today are a result of this body of work. We are very proud that the Government of Tamil Nadu is encouraging Sweet Sorghum to Ethanol production programme." "Fuel Ethanol has been accepted globally as one of the ways of reducing environmental pollution. We are glad to be at the forefront of this movement. Today, Praj has customers all over the world. We will continue to take the company forward through innovation and knowledge that lead to Future Perfect technologies." He added. Praj technology works right from identification of high yielding seed varieties. After cultivating sweet sorghum based on various seeds in different regions of India, Praj has successfully identified appropriate varieties of seeds and cultivation practices which will lead to maximum ethanol yields in different environments. Praj will shortly commence coordination of regular supply of these seed varieties to ensure higher yields. " We have achieved sweet sorghum (stalk) yields as high as 20 tonnes/acre in just 3.5 months having sugar content in excess of 10.5%." said Pramod Chaudhari. Not only this, Matrix at Praj has also introduced innovative processing technology for which a patent has been filed by the Company. The special 'Thermopermeation Process' developed by Praj ensures higher extraction of sugars from stock leading upto a 3-4% increase in fermentable sugar extraction efficiency. This means additional ethanol production of 4-5 liters per tonne. This is indeed an achievement which will make sweet sorghum a very viable alternate feedstock for ethanol production. Sweet Sorghum is beneficial not just for sugar millers who can extend their production cycle beyond the crushing season where crushing season is 180 days or when sugarcane availability is lower, it also means that distilleries which are not attached to sugar mills can now use sweet sorghum for production of alcohol. Sweet Sorghum based distilleries generate far less wastewater than a molasses based distilleries. Pramod Chaudhari also spoke of Praj technology for grain based alcohol plants. With high prices of molasses and availability becoming a problem for consistent production of alcohol, grain alcohol is found to be a good alternative in many states. There are presently eight-grain bases distilleries in India of which Praj has supplied six. Praj has also developed the dual route(switching between molasses and grain) distillery model, a first-of-its-kind. This model helps distilleries overcome shortage of feedstock thereby operating round-the-year without a hitch. One of the distilleries which have benefited from this technology is the Gwalior Distillery in Central India. Praj's grain distillery technology is accepted widely. Recently, Praj has contracted an order to design and supply a grain based distillery for a Company in Australia. The project is underway. Praj is the only Company worldwide, which offers a range of technologies for distilleries, based on a variety of feedstocks.

JUL-AUG 2004

1. Colombia: 100% MARKET SHARE

Since the announcement of the mandate in January 2004 to blend 10% ethanol in petrol, five orders have been finalized by various sugar mills in Colombia for installation of Ethanol plants. All five contracts have been awarded to Praj. Incauca, Providencia, Risaralda, Mayaguez and Manuelita are sugar mills located near Cali, the sugar belt of Colombia. The alcohol production capacity range from 100,000 liters per day to 300,000 liters per day.

In order to focus on the Central, South America and the Caribbeans, Praj has set up a separate project office which will be in operation from October 2004. This will enable Praj to service customers not only in Colombia, but also in the entire region.

2. ECOVAP-FB* EVAPORATION PLANT COMMISSIONED IN COLOMBIA

In April 2004, Praj successfully commissioned vinasse evaporation system which incorporates patented fluidized bed heat exchanger (Flubex*) for Sucromiles SA (a Tate & Lyle Group Company) based in Cali, Colombia. The effectivity of this system lies in self cleaning operation of the heat exchanger which ensures that the plant has virtually no downtime for cleaning. The 4 effect evaporator with integrated finisher has been designed to handle water evaporation at the rate of 35.6 MT/hour. The evaporation plant concentrates vinasse (coming from 75,000 litres/day distillery plant) from 10% to 60% of total solids with steam consumption of 0.3 kg / litre of water evaporated.The product of this plant, called CMS (Condensed Molasses Solubles), will be applied to sugarcane crop as liquid fertiliser. CMS has potassium content which serves as a good nutrient. This would assist in better sugar yield in the crops. Sucromiles has started commercial production and sale of CMS as liquid fertilizer.

3. Grain based distillery project in INDIA

Recently, Praj bagged an order for grain distillery to be set up at Reengus (near Jaipur), Rajasthan for HSB Agro Limited. With a capacity of 30,000 liters per day, this distillery will process broken rice and sorghum to produce extra neutral alcohol.

Wastewater Treatment method will be, Bio-methanation followed by Aeration. The liquid can be used for ferti-irrigation.

There is a distinct trend and interest amongst Indian distilleries (especially those not associated with sugar mills) to evaluate grain distillery option. Starch based or dual route distilleries have been specially designed and engineered by Praj for situations wherein either molasses is not available or there is scarcity of cane molasses. This technology can help Indian distilleries overcome the current phase of high cost of molasses.

5. Grain plant in Australia

Praj bagged a contract for providing Technology, Design and Engineering of a 140,000 liters per day Grain distillery for Australian Biofuels Pty Limited (a subsidiary of INDCOR). The distillery, to be located at Swan Hill in Victoria, Australia heralds PRAJ's growth in large capacity Grain distillery sector. The plant is designed for various types of grains available in that region of Australia.

Australian subsidiary of Mitsui & Company have also invested in the first phase of the project.

Australia is at an advanced stage of introduction of fuel ethanol programme.

6. Fuel Ethanol Project in Thailand

Khon Kaen Alcohol Company Ltd (KSL) has awarded a contract to Praj for Ethanol plant based on cane molasses and cane syrup for production of gasohol. The 100,000 liters per day distillery is attached to the Khon Kaen sugar mill located at Nampong in Thailand.

7. Ecomet XT Biogas plant commissioned

PRAJ successfully commissioned its latest design of Bio-methanation plant based on Ecomet-XT (MTR technology) at Balrampur Chini Mills (Babhnan Unit) in Uttar Pradesh, India. The system includes special agitator ensuring efficient mixing. The plant generates more gas from same feed as compared to conventional technologies.

8. PRAJ INDUSTRIES LIMITED bag Export Orders worth Over Rs. 60 crore Contracts for fuel ethanol plants finalized

Praj Industries Limited (Praj) has finalized contracts for two greenfield fuel ethanol plants in Colombia, the second South American country, after Brazil, to adopt fuel ethanol policy. In April 2003 Colombia gazetted a law, which mandates use of 10% ethanol to petrol. Praj has signed these contracts in the last week of December 2003 with one of the large sugar conglomerates in the country, Groupo Ardila Lulle. These orders, worth over US $ 15 million were bagged against formidable competition from companies in Brazil and Europe. Earlier, Praj has successfully executed projects in Peru, West Indies, Dominican Republic and Colombia.

Mr. Pramod Chaudhari, Chairman & Managing Director, Praj, said," These orders mark a major milestone in our global strategy and growth. As part of its global strategy, Praj had set up an office in Bogota, Colombia in the Year 2000. We are delighted that our investment has now paid dividends. Given these orders and others in the pipeline, Praj expects to continue to experience the dramatic growth we have enjoyed over the past two years."

The sugar mills awarding the contract, Incacua and Providencia are based at Valle near Cali in the sugar belt. With a capacity of 300,000 and 250,000 litres per day, each order comprises of Praj's Hiferm Continuous Fermentation, Ecofine Distillation, Ecovap Eavporation and EcoMol Molecular Sieve Dehydration Technology (under licence from Delta T). Designed to operate on cane molasses, cane juice and a combination thereof, the plants are highly energy integrated to deliver the lowest cost of production.

Praj has been focusing on overseas expansion in sync with growing business in India. As sponsors of the recently concluded World Ethanol Conference at London, Praj caught the attention of delegates from all over the world. The conference predicted doubling of ethanol production by 2012 with the expectation of Asia emerging as the largest consumer. The company focuses on South East Asia, Far East and Australia from offices in Singapore and Thailand and the Bogota, Colombia office oversees operations in South America and the US.

Recently Praj was also awarded a contract for a large sized Ethanol plant based on molecular sieve dehydration technology for installation in Central America. Production from the plant will be exported to the USA.

Praj has initiated its plans to set up a full-fledged project office in the region which will not only oversee the project progress in Colombia, but it will also coordinate various project related activities in the entire Latin American region.

9. Sweet Sorghum...Sweet Experience (Dec 03)

Sweet Sorghum...

Sweet Experience

Round the year ethanol production from sugarcane is not always possible due to seasonal availability of the crop. Considering the necessity of running the plant on variety of feedstock to produce different grades of alcohol including ethanol, Praj has introduced a new crop. The ethanol plant will run on sweet sorghum juice in stead of cane molasses/juice during the off season. PRAJ, through Matrix-the Innovation center, has carried out programs to study, evaluate and optimize viable feed-stocks for alcohol production. Available in four different varieties, sweet sorghum is emerging as alternate raw material to produce ethanol because of its identical characteristics and usage as sugarcane juice with the added advantage of reduced effluent volume.

10. Vitthalrao Shinde SSK Ltd...Ethanol plant commissioned (Nov 03)

Praj has recently completed 30,000 litres/day Fuel Ethanol plant based on ECOMOL* MolSieve technology under licence from Delta-T, at Solapur. Apart from Ethanol plant Praj has also commissioned 33000 litres/day distillery project on turnkey basis.

11. ISO 9001 : 2000 for Praj's manufacturing facility (July 03)

Praj has received the prestigious ISO 9001 : 2000 certification for its manufacturing process from TUV. The certification indicates establishment of processes in line with customer requirements.

12. Recertification of ASME H & U stamp for Praj's manufacturing facility (July 03)

After three years of the initial certification by ASME for H & U stamp, Praj's manufacturing facility has been re-certified by ASME for the H & U stamps for unfired pressure vessels and heating boilers respectively for further three years.

Since the initial certification, Praj has been designing and supplying ASME coded vessels for the export market. These include Heat Exchangers, Reactors, Fermentors, Tanks, Heating Boilers, Pressure Vessels for food/beverage and pharmaceutical processing plants.

13. Balrampur Chini Mills …. 5th order in a row! (June 03)

Praj Bags Contract

Balrampur chini mill's recent order relates to a decade of customer relationship. The relationship has been growing from strength to strength since the 1st order in 1993.

	In 1993, Praj put up the first Alcohol plant on turnkey basis for Balrampur Chini Mills in Gonda.
	In 2001, Balrampur Chini Mills expanded their distillery capacity to 100,000 litres/day and again Praj was their preferred technology supplier.
	In the later part of year 2001, Praj was once again awarded a contract to set up biomethanation plant.
	In the Year 2002 Balrampur Chini Mills took a progressive step and installed 40,000 litres/day ECOMOL* MolSieve fuel ethanol plant. Again Praj was the preferred technology supplier.
	And in the Year 2003, the Company finalized fifth order on Praj for a turn-key alcohol plant at its Bhabnan unit which will produce 20,000 litres per day Extra Neutral Alcohol and 40,000 litres/day fuel ethanol.

14. Praj Bags contract for over 25 Molsieve Ethanol Plants in India and abroad (May 03)

Praj has bagged 2 new orders for fuel ethanol plants in the north. While one order is from the private sector, the other one is from a cooperative sugar mill from the new state of Chattisgarh. With these 2 orders Praj has crossed 70% market share in fuel ethanol plants in India. Whilst over five plants are already commissioned, the remaining are under execution. With these plants, Praj technology will be responsible for providing over 65% Fuel Ethanol required annually in the country.

15. 'Smart Distillery' inaugurated at Vaidyanath Sugar Mill, Pangri (April 03)

With the inauguration of the distillery at Vaidyanath SSK, Pangri, Maharashtra at the hands of Hon. Dy. Prime Minister of india, the era of SMART DISTILLERY has arrived. The plant, designed by Praj, will run on Cane Molasses as well as Secondary Cane Juice/Cane Syrup/Filtrate.

The Smart aspect of the distillery lies in its ability to switch over from one raw material to produce a wide spectrum of alcohol - rectified spirit (RS), Export grade Rectified Spirit (EQRS), Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) and Fuel Ethanol.

The concept of using two or more feedstocks for production of alcohol stems from the fact that distilleries would like to operate round the year. At the same time the intention is to minimize the wastewater levels so as to use the available facilities.

This is a breakthrough technology for sugar mills which are already faced with the challenge of stock piling and sugar prices coming under pressure. SMART DISTILLERY provides sugar mills the right of choice to either produce sugar (when the market conditions are right) or ethanol (depending upon the demand).

Vaidyanath SSK, saw the need to balance sugar - alcohol economics and spelt out this requirement to Praj. Keeping these needs in mind Praj has commissioned the plant which would run on captive feedstocks. The plant operates with :

1. HIFERM Continuous Fermentation Technology (30,000 liters per day)
2. ECOFINE Multi-pressure Distillation System with options to produce RS, EQRS and ENA: (Total spirit: 30,000 liters per day)
3. ECOMOL Molecular Sieve Plant for production of 45,000 liters per day Fuel Ethanol.

Plant highlights are:

1.	Use of Secondary Juice as well as cane molasses feedstock
2.	Ease of switching from one raw material to another
3.	Multiple grades of alcohol from the same plant: RS, EQRS, ENA and FUEL ETHANOL
4.	Reduction in process water consumption
5.	Energy saving due to multipressure system
6.	Consistency in product quality
7.	Fully automated plant
8.	Common Effluent Treatment Plant with vinasse levels as low as 2 liter/liter of Alcohol produced.
9.	Possibility of remote access through web enabled system.

Praj has developed this technology indigenously at its Technology Development Center in Pune called MATRIX - The Innovation Center.