CBH Group

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 $3.72 billion (September 2015)
Profit $82.7 million (September 2015)
Number of employees
 1,200 (September 2015)
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 1,200 and annual revenue of $3.72 billion.[1]

History

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]

In 2016 the Australian Taxation Office revealed that despite generating more than $3.4 billion in revenue in 2013-14, the company had paid no tax. This made it Australia's biggest revenue earner not to pay tax in the period under review.[10]

Transport

CBH class hauled train at Yilliminning in October 2013
Grain silos at Port of Albany 2016
CBH locomotive at Port of Albany 2016

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.[11][12] It aimed that the amount of grain transported by rail rise from 50% to 70%.[11][13] CBH settled on a business model that saw it invest in new locomotives and grain wagons, with day-to-day operations contracted out.[14][15]

In December 2010, CBH awarded Watco WA Rail a ten-year contract to operate services in the south of Western Australia.[16][17][18] To operate the services, CBH purchased 22 CBH class locomotives from MotivePower, Boise[19] and 574 grain wagons from Bradken, Xuzhou.[20][21]

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.[22] 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.[23] CBH operate on the Brookfield Rail managed open access network.[24]

Although the contract officially commenced on 1 May 2012, Watco operated its first service on 30 March 2012.[25][26][27] 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,[28] while to operate standard gauge services, locomotives were hired from Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia and SCT Logistics.[29] A further three locomotives will be delivered in 2015 as compensation for late delivery of the original order.[30]

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.[31][32]

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.[33]

CBH received a new record harvest of 14.7 million tonnes from grain growers in Western Australia during the 2003/2004 season.[34] This record was broken in 2013/14, with 15.8 million tonnes of grain handled by January 2014.[35][36]

Harvest management

See also CBH grain receival points

Kwinana silo in November 2006

Historically the CBH system had up to 300 receival points[37] – 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[38] became part of a system of management zones:

Each zone is further broken down into areas.[38]

References

  1. ↑ Annual Report 30 September 2015 CBH Group
  2. 1 2 "Key Facts & Figures". CBH Group. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
  3. ↑ Western Australia. Royal Commission on the Bulk Handling of Wheat; Angwin, W. C. (William Charles) (1935), Report, Govt. Printer, retrieved 5 March 2014
  4. ↑ Western Australia. Royal Commission on the Bulk Handling of Wheat; Angwin, W. C. (William Charles), 1863–1944; Mitchell, James Sir, 1866–1951 (1935), The Bulk Handling of Wheat Royal Commission : report to His Excellency Sir James Mitchell, Govt. Printer, retrieved 5 March 2014
  5. ↑ "THE COMMISSION'S REPORT.". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 16 August 1935. p. 25. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  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 Victoria. Royal Commission of Victoria (1902), Report of the Royal Commission on handling grain and other produce in bulk or otherwise, together with the appendices and minutes of evidence, Robert S. Brain, Government. Printer, retrieved 5 March 2014
  7. ↑ "Co-operative Bulk Handling Website- History". 2008. Archived from the original on 29 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  8. ↑ See also the history of Western Australian Farmers Federation that shows the relationship between the WAFF, CBH and Wesfarmers
  9. ↑ "ABC News Online – Farmers' group welcomes merger legislation". 2002. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  10. ↑ "98 private companies earning over $200m pay no tax: ATO". ABC News. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  11. 1 2 Bidding underway for WA grain rail management Rail Express 11 November 2009
  12. ↑ Tender plans for rail future ABC News 18 November 2009
  13. ↑ Asciano in $700m grain bid The Australian 30 August 2010
  14. ↑ Locomotives roll off production line and wagons hit the WA shore CBH Group March 2012
  15. ↑ Major new investment in WA grains industry Agriculture & Food Minister 24 August 2012
  16. ↑ Watco wins CBH Group rail contract Perth Now 13 December 2010
  17. ↑ US group wins CBH contract from QR National The Australian 14 December 2010
  18. ↑ Watco wins CBH grain rail contract Rail Express 15 December 2010
  19. ↑ Clark, Peter (2012). An Australian Locomotive Guide. Rosenberg Publishing. p. 312. ISBN 9781921719554.
  20. ↑ New wagons hit the Western Australian shore CBH Group 9 February 2012
  21. ↑ WA grain industry takes ownership of first rail fleet Rail Express 29 August 2012
  22. ↑ CBH, Watco mark anniversary of moving grain on rail World Grain 3 April 2013
  23. ↑ Receival Site Map CBH Group
  24. ↑ ERA to mediate CBH, Brookfield rail talks Business News Western Australia 31 October 2013
  25. ↑ CBH, Watco rail agreement starts early World Grain 2 April 2012
  26. ↑ CBH grain wagons go to work early Farm Weekly 5 April 2012
  27. ↑ First train runs from Merredin Merredin-Wheatbelt Mercury 12 April 2012
  28. ↑ Annual Report June 2013 Aurizon
  29. ↑ Annual Report September 2012 CBH Group
  30. ↑ CBH pushes market limits The West Australian 23 December 2013
  31. ↑ CBH, Brookfield off to ERA Rail Express 6 November 2013
  32. ↑ Consultation Brookfield Rail Pty Ltd Floor and Ceiling Cost Determination Economic Regulation Authority 6 January 2014
  33. ↑ "LANSA – CBH uses LANSA to collect harvest estimates from 10,000 growers". 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  34. ↑ "ABC Rural – Sparks fly at Co-operative Bulk Handling AGM". 2005. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  35. ↑ Grain growers CBHback to best after record WA harvest The Australian 23 January 2014
  36. ↑ Western Australian bulk handler and the nation's biggest grain exporter CBH Group posts a near record Profit The Weekly Times 3 February 2014
  37. ↑ In 1965 the maximum was reached of 305 sites, page 236 – Goldfinch, Richenda; Co-operative Bulk Handling Limited (2003), Legends of the grain game : stories of the people who built Co-operative Bulk Handling, Co-operative Bulk Handling, ISBN 978-0-9592858-1-9
  38. 1 2 "Our Locations". CBH Group. Retrieved 2013-04-12.

Further reading

External links

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