Gairdner upgrade boosts grain net

The first expansion of permanent storage at CBH Group sites across the State has been completed at the Gairdner receival site.

Unveiled to growers last week for the upcoming harvest, two new open bulkheads have been added to the Great Southern facility.

The upgrade will add an additional 46,800 tonnes of storage to the site and takes the total capacity to more than 293,000 tonnes.

CBH operations general manager Ben Macnamara said the region was experiencing steady growth in grain production each year.

“At this current projected rate, our analysis, which is based on a rolling three-year cycle, shows Gairdner requires more storage to meet grower demand,” he said.

“With the new storage and increased throughput capacity at Gairdner, we will be able to offer growers improved services and the option to offer additional segregations.

“By continuing to invest into the network, the co-operative can keep its network fees competitive, increase throughput capacity and efficiency, and meet export demand at the right time to capture value for our growers’ grain.”

The Gairdner improvements include a new conveyor loading system which will increase the rate that grain can be received from trucks, and upgrades to an existing conveyor system at the site to receive grain at an increased 500 tonnes per hour. Other sites in the Great Southern to see changes are Cranbrook, which will have storage increased by 152,000 tonnes, Lake Grace by 84,000 tonnes and Broomehill by another 77,400 tonnes.

These sites are anticipated to be completed before the start of this year’s harvest.

The grain-handling co-operative has more than $150 million budgeted for capital works this year, adding more than 800,000 tonnes of new permanent storage to the network. The upgrades were announced as part of CBH Group’s ongoing network strategy.

The strategy takes into account that 96 per cent of the State’s total crop is received at the 100 network strategy sites. Dozens of smaller facilities will be retired as CBH focuses on those 100 sites.

WCP Civil was lead contractor at Gairdner, with works completed last month.

WCP will also upgrade Broomehill and Lake Grace.