CBH Group

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CBH Group
Cooperative
Industry Agriculture
Founded 5 April 1933
Headquarters West Perth
Area served
 Western Australia
Key people
 Andrew Crane (CEO)
Neil Wandel (Chairman)
Products Grain marketing, logistics
Revenue $2.71 billion (September 2013)
Profit $132 million (September 2013)
Number of employees
 1,000 (September 2013)
Website cbh.com.au

The CBH Group (commonly known as CBH, an acronym for Co-operative Bulk Handling), is a grain growers' cooperative that handles, markets and processes grain from the wheatbelt of Western Australia. CBH has a permanent staff of around 1,000 and annual revenue of $2.71 billion.[1]

History

File:Kwinana CBH 2.jpg
CBH's Kwinana grain loading terminal in November 2009

CBH was formed on 5 April 1933,[2] at a time when a royal commission on bulk handling of grain was in progress,[3][4][5] and after over 20 years of failed proposals for bulk handling of grain in Western Australia.[6]

The trustees of the Wheat Board of Western Australia and Wesfarmers registered the company together with capital of £100,000 divided evenly into 100,000 shares.[7][8] The cooperative was formed under the principle of one person, one vote, regardless of the amount of grain supplied.

CBH merged with the Grain Pool of WA in November 2002, after the Parliament of Western Australia passed legislation allowing the merger to go ahead.[9]

Transport

File:CBH 10 entering Yillimining yard.JPG
CBH class hauled train at Yilliminning in October 2013

During the early years most grain movement was by rail over the Western Australian Government Railways network, with sidings and branch lines specifically serving wheat growing areas. Many of the branch lines and rail facilities have not been updated or maintained, with road transport increasing in many areas.

In 2009, CBH decided to put its rail grain haulage services out to tender for the first time.[10][11] It aimed that the amount of grain transported by rail rise from 50% to 70%.[10][12] CBH settled on a business model that saw it invest in new locomotives and grain wagons, with day-to-day operations contracted out.[13][14]

In December 2010, CBH awarded Watco WA Rail a ten-year contract to operate services in the south of Western Australia.[15][16][17] To operate the services, CBH purchased 22 CBH class locomotives from MotivePower, Boise[18] and 574 grain wagons from Bradken, Xuzhou.[19][20]

Under the agreement, Watco is responsible for providing a comprehensive rail logistics planning service, including train planning and scheduling, tracking, maintenance, inventory control and crew management.[21] Watco operates and maintains the rolling stock, with ownership remaining with CBH.

The services link various CBH grain collection points in the wheatbelt with CBH terminal and port facilities in Albany, Geraldton and Kwinana.[22] CBH operate on the Brookfield Rail managed open access network.[23]

Although the contract officially commenced on 1 May 2012, Watco operated its first service on 30 March 2012.[24][25][26] Because of a delay in the delivery of the rolling stock, QR National continued to operate some 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge services until October 2012,[27] while to operate standard gauge services, locomotives were hired from Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia and SCT Logistics.[28] A further three locomotives will be delivered in 2015 as compensation for late delivery of the original order.[29]

In October 2013, CBH referred an ongoing dispute with the network owner Brookfield Rail over track access prices and the state of the network to the Economic Regulation Authority.[30][31]

Tonnages

In 1999/2000 season CBH received a record amount of grain, 12.2 million tonnes in all, made up of 11 different grain types.[32]

CBH received a new record harvest of 14.7 million tonnes from grain growers in Western Australia during the 2003/2004 season.[33]

This record was broken in 2013/14, with 15.8 million tonnes of grain handled by January 2014.[34][35]

Harvest management

See also CBH grain receival points

File:Kwinana CBH.jpg
Kwinana silo in November 2006

Historically the CBH system had up to 300 receival points[36] – in most cases tied into the Western Australian Government Railways railway network, as the railway lines were the prime grain transport method.

By the 2000s, the number of receival points had been reduced to less than 200[2] and the locations of the receival points[37] became part of a system of management zones:

Each zone is further broken down into areas.[37]

References

  1. ↑ Annual Report 30 September 2013 CBH Group
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Western Australia was by no means unique – there had been Royal Commissions into Bulk Handling of grain in other states – Victoria in 1902 for example Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ See also the history of Western Australian Farmers Federation that shows the relationship between the WAFF, CBH and Wesfarmers
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Bidding underway for WA grain rail management Rail Express 11 November 2009
  11. ↑ Tender plans for rail future ABC News 18 November 2009
  12. ↑ Asciano in $700m grain bid The Australian 30 August 2010
  13. ↑ Locomotives roll off production line and wagons hit the WA shore CBH Group March 2012
  14. ↑ Major new investment in WA grains industry Agriculture & Food Minister 24 August 2012
  15. ↑ Watco wins CBH Group rail contract Perth Now 13 December 2010
  16. ↑ US group wins CBH contract from QR National The Australian 14 December 2010
  17. ↑ Watco wins CBH grain rail contract Rail Express 15 December 2010
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ New wagons hit the Western Australian shore CBH Group 9 February 2012
  20. ↑ WA grain industry takes ownership of first rail fleet Rail Express 29 August 2012
  21. ↑ CBH, Watco mark anniversary of moving grain on rail World Grain 3 April 2013
  22. ↑ Receival Site Map CBH Group
  23. ↑ ERA to mediate CBH, Brookfield rail talks Business News Western Australia 31 October 2013
  24. ↑ CBH, Watco rail agreement starts early World Grain 2 April 2012
  25. ↑ CBH grain wagons go to work early Farm Weekly 5 April 2012
  26. ↑ First train runs from Merredin Merredin-Wheatbelt Mercury 12 April 2012
  27. ↑ Annual Report June 2013 Aurizon
  28. ↑ Annual Report September 2012 CBH Group
  29. ↑ CBH pushes market limits The West Australian 23 December 2013
  30. ↑ CBH, Brookfield off to ERA Rail Express 6 November 2013
  31. ↑ Consultation Brookfield Rail Pty Ltd Floor and Ceiling Cost Determination Economic Regulation Authority 6 January 2014
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Grain growers CBHback to best after record WA harvest The Australian 23 January 2014
  35. ↑ Western Australian bulk handler and the nation's biggest grain exporter CBH Group posts a near record Profit The Weekly Times 3 February 2014
  36. ↑ In 1965 the maximum was reached of 305 sites, page 236 – Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

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External links

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