CBH Group

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Grain-handling co-operative in Western Australia

title: "CBH Group" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cbh-group", "grain-industry-of-western-australia", "australian-companies-established-in-1933", "grain-companies", "co-operatives-in-australia", "freight-railway-companies-of-australia", "privately-held-companies-of-australia"] description: "Grain-handling co-operative in Western Australia" topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBH_Group" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Grain-handling co-operative in Western Australia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

FieldValue
nameCBH Group
logoCBH Group logo.png
typeCooperative
founded5 April 1933
locationLevel 6, 240 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia
key_peopleBen Macnamara (CEO)
Simon Stead (Chairman)
area_servedWestern Australia
industryAgriculture
productsGrain marketing, logistics
revenue$4.19 billion (September 2019)
net_income$60.8 million (September 2019)
num_employees1,100 (September 2019)
homepage
::

|name = CBH Group |logo = CBH Group logo.png |type = Cooperative | founded = 5 April 1933 |location = Level 6, 240 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia |key_people = Ben Macnamara (CEO) Simon Stead (Chairman) |area_served = Western Australia |industry = Agriculture |products = Grain marketing, logistics |revenue = $4.19 billion (September 2019) |operating_income = |net_income = $60.8 million (September 2019) |num_employees = 1,100 (September 2019) |parent = |subsid = |homepage = |footnotes =

The CBH Group – commonly known as CBH, an acronym for Co-operative Bulk Handling – is an organisation that operates the vast majority of cereal grain receival points in Western Australia (WA). A cooperative owned by farmers, CBH also stores, transports, processes and markets grain from throughout the Wheatbelt region of WA.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Kwinana_CBH_2.jpg" caption="Kwinana]] grain loading terminal in November 2009"] ::

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

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. 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 in November 2002, after the Parliament of Western Australia passed legislation allowing the merger to go ahead.

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

Transport

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/CBH_10_entering_Yillimining_yard.JPG" caption="Yilliminning]] in October 2013"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Albany_port_grain_silo.JPG" caption="Grain silos at [[Port of Albany]] 2016"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/CBH_locomotive_at_Albany_Port.JPG" caption="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. It aimed that the amount of grain transported by rail rise from 50% to 70%. CBH settled on a business model that saw it invest in new locomotives and grain wagons, with day-to-day operations contracted out.

In December 2010, CBH awarded Watco Australia a ten-year contract to operate services in the south of Western Australia. To operate the services, CBH purchased 22 CBH class locomotives from MotivePower, Boise and 574 grain wagons from Bradken, Xuzhou.

Under the agreement, Watco was responsible for providing a comprehensive rail logistics planning service, including train planning and scheduling, tracking, maintenance, inventory control, and crew management. Watco operated and maintained 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, Esperance and Kwinana. CBH operate on the Arc Infrastructure managed open access network.

Although the contract officially commenced on 1 May 2012, Watco operated its first service on 30 March 2012. Because of a delay in the delivery of the rolling stock, QR National continued to operate some gauge services until October 2012, while to operate standard gauge services, locomotives were hired from Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia and SCT Logistics. A further three locomotives were delivered in 2015 as compensation for late delivery of the original order.

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. In December 2017 CBH Group expanded its locomotive fleet purchasing 10 DB class locomotives from Aurizon.

When next tendered, the contract was awarded to Aurizon for six years with an option to extend to 10 years. Aurizon introduced a further three sets of wagons to the 10 owned by CBH. Although scheduled to transition in May 2022, all parties agreed to bring the handover date forward to September 2021.

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.

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

New records were set in the 2016/17 season when the company received 16.6 million tonnes of grain. The company expected over $5 billion to have been pumped into the Western Australian economy as a result of the record harvest. A new record for the month of December was set with 831,000 tonnes of grain moved to port via rail. The highest monthly shipping record was also broken in January with 1.88 million tonnes shipped out. The previous monthly shipping record of 1.66 million tonnes had been set in February 2014.

Harvest management

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Kwinana_CBH.jpg" caption="Kwinana]] silo in November 2006"] ::

Historically the CBH system had up to 300 receival points – 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 and the locations of the receival points became part of a system of management zones:

Each zone is further broken down into areas.

References

References

  1. "Key Facts & Figures". CBH Group.
  2. "Report". Govt. Printer.
  3. "The Bulk Handling of Wheat Royal Commission : report to His Excellency Sir James Mitchell". Govt. Printer.
  4. (16 August 1935). "THE COMMISSION'S REPORT.". National Library of Australia.
  5. "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.
  6. (2008). "Co-operative Bulk Handling Website- History".
  7. See also the history of [[Western Australian Farmers Federation]] that shows the relationship between the WAFF, CBH and Wesfarmers
  8. (October 2019). "ABC News Online – Farmers' group welcomes merger legislation".
  9. (22 March 2016). "98 private companies earning over $200m pay no tax: ATO".
  10. [http://www.railexpress.com.au/archive/2009/november/november-11-09/other-top-stories/bidding-underway-for-wa-grain-rail-management Bidding underway for WA grain rail management] {{Webarchive. link. (18 November 2009 ''Rail Express'' 11 November 2009)
  11. [http://www.abc.net.au/site-archive/rural/wa/content/2009/11/s2746623.htm Tender plans for rail future] {{Webarchive. link. (24 February 2014 ''[[ABC News (Australia)). ABC News]]'' 18 November 2009
  12. [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/asciano-in-700m-grain-bid/story-e6frg906-1225911572877 Asciano in $700m grain bid] {{Webarchive. link. (3 September 2010 ''[[The Australian]]'' 30 August 2010)
  13. [https://www.cbh.com.au/media/240596/pick%20of%20the%20crop%20es%20hr.pdf Locomotives roll off production line and wagons hit the WA shore] {{Webarchive. link. (20 March 2014 ''CBH Group'' March 2012)
  14. link. (22 February 2014 Agriculture & Food Minister 24 August 2012)
  15. [http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/watco-wins-cbh-group-rail-contract/story-e6frg2s3-1225970413752 Watco wins CBH Group rail contract] ''[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia). The Sunday Times]]'' 13 December 2010
  16. [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/us-group-wins-cbh-contract-from-qr-national/story-e6frg8zx-1225970495346 US group wins CBH contract from QR National] {{Webarchive. link. (19 January 2011 ''The Australian'' 14 December 2010)
  17. [http://www.railexpress.com.au/archive/2010/december/15-12-10/other-top-stories/watco-wins-cbh-grain-rail-contract Watco wins CBH grain rail contract] {{Webarchive. link. (3 February 2014 ''Rail Express'' 15 December 2010)
  18. Clark, Peter. (2012). "An Australian Locomotive Guide". Rosenberg Publishing.
  19. [https://www.cbh.com.au/media-centre/news/2012/february/new-wagons-hit-the-western-australian-shore.aspx New wagons hit the Western Australian shore]{{Dead link. (July 2022)
  20. [http://www.railexpress.com.au/archive/2012/august/august-29th-2012/other-top-stories/wa-grain-industry-takes-ownership-of-first-rail-fleet WA grain industry takes ownership of first rail fleet] {{Webarchive. link. (4 March 2014 ''Rail Express'' 29 August 2012)
  21. link. (22 February 2014 ''World Grain'' 3 April 2013)
  22. [https://www.cbh.com.au/media/305738/receival%20site%20map.pdf Receival Site Map] {{Webarchive. link. (22 February 2014 CBH Group)
  23. [http://www.businessnews.com.au/article/ERA-to-mediate-CBH-Brookfield-rail-talks ERA to mediate CBH, Brookfield rail talks] {{Webarchive. link. (11 October 2017 ''[[Business News (Australia)). Business News]]'' 31 October 2013
  24. [http://www.world-grain.com/News/News%20Home/World%20Grain%20News/2012/4/CBH%20Watco%20rail%20arrangement%20starts%20early.aspx CBH, Watco rail agreement starts early] {{Webarchive. link. (22 February 2014 ''World Grain'' 2 April 2012)
  25. [http://www.farmweekly.com.au/news/agriculture/cropping/general-news/cbh-grain-wagons-go-to-work-early/2512313.aspx CBH grain wagons go to work early] {{Webarchive. link. (22 February 2014 ''[[Farm Weekly]]'' 5 April 2012)
  26. [http://www.merredinmercury.com.au/story/228688/first-train-runs-from-merredin/ First train runs from Merredin] {{Webarchive. link. (22 February 2014 ''Merredin-Wheatbelt Mercury'' 12 April 2012)
  27. [http://www.aurizon.com.au/Downloads/Aurizon%20Annual%20Report%202013.pdf Annual Report June 2013] {{Webarchive. link. (23 February 2014 Aurizon)
  28. [https://www.cbh.com.au/annual-reports/2012/index.html#/16/ Annual Report September 2012] {{Webarchive. link. (20 March 2014 CBH Group)
  29. [http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/countryman/a/20451719/cbh-pushes-market-limits/ CBH pushes market limits] {{Webarchive. link. (26 February 2014 ''The West Australian'' 23 December 2013)
  30. [http://www.railexpress.com.au/archive/2013/november-2013/november-6-2013/cbh-brookfield-off-to-era CBH, Brookfield off to ERA] {{Webarchive. link. (12 November 2013 ''Rail Express'' 6 November 2013)
  31. [http://www.erawa.com.au/cproot/11988/2/Consultation%20-%20Brookfield%20Rail%20Pty%20Ltd%20Floor%20and%20Ceiling%20Cost%20Determination%20-%20Invitation%20for%20Public%20Submissions.pdf Consultation Brookfield Rail Pty Ltd Floor and Ceiling Cost Determination] {{Webarchive. link. (4 February 2014 Economic Regulation Authority 6 January 2014)
  32. MotivePower Roundup ''[[Motive Power]]'' issue 115 January 2018 page 106
  33. [https://web.archive.org/web/20180313145042/http://www.farmweekly.com.au/news/agriculture/cropping/grains/diesels-expand-cbhs-loco-fleet/2756804.aspx Diesels expand CBH's loco fleet] ''Farm Weekly'' 18 March 2018
  34. [https://web.archive.org/web/20210806015842/https://www.aurizon.com.au/news/2021/aurizon-and-cbh-sign-long-term-agreement-for-wa-grain-haulage Aurizon and CBH sign long-term agreement for WA grain haulage] Aurizon 6 August 2021
  35. [https://web.archive.org/web/20210813041840/https://www.railexpress.com.au/cbh-chooses-aurizon-as-rail-services-provider/ CBH chooses Aurizon as rail services provider] ''Rail Express'' 13 August 2021
  36. [https://web.archive.org/web/20210618104539/https://www.farmweekly.com.au/story/7208272/cbh-seeks-a-rail-new-deal/ CBH seeks a rail new deal] ''Farm Weekly'' 14 April 2021
  37. Grain contracts change hands in Western Australia ''[[The Railway Magazine]]'' issue 1447 October 2021 page 106
  38. (2008). "LANSA – CBH uses LANSA to collect harvest estimates from 10,000 growers".
  39. (2005). "ABC Rural – Sparks fly at Co-operative Bulk Handling AGM".
  40. [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/grain-growers-cbh-back-to-best-after-record-wa-harvest/story-e6frg8zx-1226808812937 Grain growers CBH back to best after record WA harvest] ''The Australian'' 23 January 2014
  41. [http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/commodities/grain-and-hay/western-australian-bulk-handler-and-the-nations-biggest-grain-exporter-cbh-group-posts-a-nearrecord-profit/story-fnker6ee-1226816520321 Western Australian bulk handler and the nation's biggest grain exporter CBH Group posts a near-record Profit] {{Webarchive. link. (5 March 2014 ''The Weekly Times'' 3 February 2014)
  42. Jenne Brammer. (3 February 2017). "WA farmers deliver record grain harvest". [[Yahoo7]].
  43. (2002). "Legends of the grain game: stories of the people who built Co-operative Bulk Handling". Co-operative Bulk Handling.
  44. "Sites and Ports Directory".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

cbh-groupgrain-industry-of-western-australiaaustralian-companies-established-in-1933grain-companiesco-operatives-in-australiafreight-railway-companies-of-australiaprivately-held-companies-of-australia