CBH Group unveils new Kwinana fertiliser facility

A project that is delivered on time and on budget is rare in the current economy, with most companies reporting endless construction delays, yet CBH has been able to deliver project after project with breathtaking speed.

The CBH secret?

The co-operative says with this being just the start of its 2033 plan, contractors want to jump onboard.

Touring the facility with WA Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis, Federal MP for Brand Madeleine King and CBH chairman Simon Stead last Friday, it is evident that efficiency was on the forefront of CBH's mind.

The entire facility is well thought out - from the replanted grass trees by the entrance from the pre-construction site, to a natural evaporation system for contaminated wastewater.

The new state-of-the-art facilities include a transfer pipeline, a storage warehouse and tanks and an administration office, giving growers security of supply for essential fertiliser inputs at a competitive price.

Right next door to the CBH Grain Terminal, the idea is that trucks will drop off grain and then visit the fertiliser facility, heading back to farmers with a load of fertiliser.

The facility utilises some of the best technology in the industry to make the process as seamless as possible.

This includes ensuring that drivers don't have to get out of the truck or use walkie-talkies to line up their truck, saving valuable time.

A truck loading time is about 30 minutes per container for granular, while about four trucks per hour can be loaded with liquid urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN).

The new facility has capacity to store 32,000 tonnes of UAN and 55,000 tonnes of bulk granular fertiliser.

CBH hopes with this facility it can gain 15 per cent market share by 2033, building on its current 10pc holding.

Despite a drastically increased capacity, CBH head of fertiliser David Pritchard said they liked to grow their business naturally and weren't planning to rapidly increase their marketing.

Over time, he believed farmers would see the value and efficiency of CBH and would slowly make the switch.

The first shipment of fertiliser from America, of about 24,000 tonnes, is arriving on the first week of April.

With UAN shipments using the same berth as grain outloading, Mr Pritchard said some accommodating would have to be made, but he was confident that it would have minimal impact on grain shipments.

"The luxury with liquids is it pumps rain, hail or shine - so we are talking a maximum of 48 hours on the berth - two to three times a year," Mr Pritchard said.

"So we are pretty confident that we can handle our logistics and staff to not impact grain."

The opening of the facility marks the start of CBH's liquid fertiliser business and expands its granular fertiliser capacity by 15,000t.

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Mr Stead said this is an exciting milestone which would deliver significant value to WA graingrowers.

"CBH's Kwinana fertiliser facility provides a new liquid offering, and bolsters our granular offering, across a wider catchment for the benefit of all growers," Mr Stead said.

"Ultimately, it enables us to reduce our handling and freight costs through efficiencies, which can be passed on to growers through competitive prices.

"Increasing our fertiliser storage capacity will also improve consistency of supply for growers when they need it most."

CBH chief marketing and trading officer Jason Craig said the facility enabled the growth of the co-operative's fertiliser business, in line with grower demand.

"CBH Fertiliser continues to experience year-on-year growth and outturned a record 204,000t last year - our best result since entering the market in 2015," Mr Craig said.

"Increasing the scale of our fertiliser business, and allowing for further expansion, reflects the ever-increasing demand for CBH fertiliser."

CBH is expected to commence outloading UAN and granular fertiliser to WA growers next month.

Ms Jarvis emphasised that the savings derived from increased supply chain efficiencies from this new facility would be passed on to growers in competitive pricing - boosting profit margins.

"The investment is timely, with a recent ABARES report showing that despite a recent easing in input costs, fertiliser, fuel and freight costs remain relatively high in long term averages," Ms Jarvis said.

"CBH has worked creatively across the supply chain to create these efficiencies and opportunities that benefit our growers and the grains industry.

"This extra fertiliser capacity at CBH will deliver greater flexibility to our graingrowers, enabling them to purchase competitively priced fertiliser as required and in response to seasonal conditions.