Platform · Processing

The Lilayi GLT plant

Green-leaf threshing (GLT) is where cured leaf becomes an export product. Because the plant processes our own crop, the specification is agreed before the line starts, not negotiated after.

Panoramic view of the redrying hall at a SUR Engenharia reference installation — Redrying hall — SUR Engenharia reference installation. The technology specified for Lilayi, commissioning 2028.The machine class of the 12′ apron lamina redryer in the Lilayi specification.

Green-leaf input: 15 000 kg/h
Nameplate, 7-month season: ≈50.7M kg
96″/72″/60″ threshing: 5 stages
Line commissioning: 2028

SUR Engenharia (Brazil, est. 1996) line: five-stage threshing, 12′ apron lamina redryer, stem redryer, Fishburne-type two-charge lamina press; Siemens PLC/HMI. Manufacture 2026–27.

Packing: C48 cartons · 200 kg net

How the line works

Bale in, specification out.

Cured leaf moving up a conveyor into the threshing line at a SUR Engenharia reference installation — The threshing line — SUR Engenharia reference installation.The equipment class behind the five-stage threshing specified for Lilayi, shown running.

From bale to blend

Incoming farm bales are received, graded and laid down to a blend instruction across blending tables and three conditioning cylinders, then picking and inspection ahead of the threshers. Five threshing stages (96″/72″/60″ threshers with multi-separators) strip lamina from stem, and both are conditioned to the agreed moisture before packing.

Siemens PLC and drive cabinets in assembly at SUR Engenharia’s works — Line automation in assembly at SUR Engenharia — the control system specified for Lilayi.The Siemens PLC/HMI architecture named in the line specification, photographed in build.

Moisture and quality control

The line is specified with a Coresta-standard test shaker and stem tester, continuous in-line moisture metering and metal detection at the prep line. Out-of-range product does not get packed. QC records stay with the lot and travel with the shipping documents.

Packed cartons on roller conveyors in the packing area at a SUR Engenharia reference installation — Packed cartons — SUR Engenharia reference installation.The end of the line: packed product staged the way Lilayi will stage it for dispatch.

Packing and dispatch

Finished product is packed in C48 cartons at 200 kg net, pressed on two Fishburne-type double presses at the plant, then marked and staged for container loading — the TAZARA rail line passes about 500 m from the plant gate.

Reference installations

The line, before Lilayi

The Lilayi line is specified and built by SUR Engenharia (Brazil, est. 1996), with COMAS process engineering and Concorde civils. Until commissioning in 2028, the photographs on this page show the same equipment at SUR reference installations and at SUR’s own works — not the Lilayi plant.

Banks of multi-separators above vibrating conveyors on a threshing line at a SUR Engenharia reference installation — Multi-separator banks on the threshing stages — SUR Engenharia reference installation.Separators lift clean lamina out of the airstream between threshing stages — this is where lamina yield is won.

Conditioning cylinders with stainless extraction hoods at a SUR Engenharia reference installation — Conditioning cylinders — SUR Engenharia reference installation.Leaf is brought to working moisture before threshing; three cylinders are specified for Lilayi.

Blending and feeding tables loaded with cured leaf at a SUR Engenharia reference installation — Blending tables loaded with leaf — SUR Engenharia reference installation.Where the buyer’s blend instruction enters the process: farm bales are laid down to specification before the line.

Aisle between the enclosed sections of a stem redryer at a SUR Engenharia reference installation — Stem redryer — SUR Engenharia reference installation.Stem is dried as its own product stream, as specified for Lilayi.

Fabrication floor at SUR Engenharia’s works in Brazil with cylinder shells and an overhead crane — SUR Engenharia’s works, Brazil — builder of the Lilayi line; manufacture scheduled 2026–27.Shown to evidence builder capability: heavy fabrication in progress at the works that will build the Lilayi equipment.

Two-charge lamina press tower with safety fencing and a packed carton on the outfeed at a SUR Engenharia reference installation — Fishburne-type lamina press — SUR Engenharia reference installation.The two-charge press packs lamina to carton weight — the final step before dispatch.

Engineering layout drawing of the Lilayi plant: green and dry storage areas, offices, utilities, the processing line footprint and an area for future expansion — The Lilayi (LSMFEZ) plant layout — SUR Engenharia proposal drawing. Commissioning 2028.The footprint a diligence team can check against the LSMFEZ site: green and dry storage, line hall, utilities and expansion area.

Next in the chain: the trading desk See the leaf on offer