ALMOST $350 million was invested by CBH Group into its supply chain network during the 2021/22 financial year, making it the biggest ever annual investment by the co-operative.
In the 12 months to the end of September 2022, CBH spent $348m to execute hundreds of projects split into three major categories - expand and enhance, sustaining capital and maintenance.
CBH chief operations officer Mick Daw said investment in the network was critical to grow, sustain and improve the co-operative's infrastructure in order to lift logistical capacity, particularly from site to port.
"We're currently projecting that the average crop size will grow to 22 million tonnes by 2033, and peak at around 28mt," Mr Daw said.
"In line with our strategy, we must invest more to be able to safely receive the crop and improve our assets and infrastructure to increase capacity safely and efficiently.
"Our goal is to be able to export 3mt per month by 2033 and to do that we need to commit to elevated levels of network investment."
The record investment in the CBH network included $157m for expanding and enhancing the network, including three major site expansions at Cadoux, Dumbleyung and Shark Lake, adding 300,000t of permanent storage to the network.
In addition, a further 2.4mt of temporary storage was added across 33 sites in the network for harvest 2021/22, which played a key role in receiving and storing last year's record harvest.
A further $131m was invested in more than 230 sustaining capital projects to extend the life and functionality of CBH's existing assets, including sealed storage remediation, port shutdowns, mobile weighbridges and increasing the height of open bulkhead walls.
That included $17m for addressing critical risks, focusing on improving safety for CBH employees and contractors by providing safer elevator access, machine guarding, horizontal access, grid cover replacements and fan cover drop zone projects.
On top of that, $60m was spent on scheduled maintenance, including preventative maintenance, installing condition monitoring equipment, fixing breakdowns and repairs.
CBH chief project delivery officer Sam Gliddon said the CBH team worked closely with contractors to ensure the builds were delivered safely and to the highest quality to ensure longevity and benefits to growers.
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"Since 2018, we have added a total of 7.7mt of temporary and permanent storage and completed more than 400 sustaining projects," Mr Gliddon said.
"This is a significant investment to ensure our supply chain and network matches pace with the increasing crop size and evolving customer demands.
"Increasing the capacity of our network is critical to maximising the value of growers' grain in international markets, and sustainably creating value for WA growers, both current and future."
