Grain handler CBH says it’s added over 1.5 million tonnes of storage and handling capacity across its network ahead of first grain deliveries from this year’s WA harvest.
More than 650,000 tonnes of permanent storage capacity has been added across the grain receival network, ahead of the 2018-19 harvest.
This includes 138,000 tonnes of additional storage added at CBH Group’s Kellerberrin site, 86,000 tonnes at York, 72,000 tonnes at Broomehill, and 69,000 tonnes at Grass Patch.
More than 900,000 tonnes of emergency storage has also been added, with a further 200,000 tonnes able to be built if required.
CBH general manager of operations David Capper said the extra storage was part of the co-op’s commitment to deliver faster and better services for growers.
“Our harvest preparation has included the capacity to accommodate for a significant amount of emergency storage, which provides us with the flexibility to manage high volumes of grain deliveries in localised hotspots, which is anticipated to be in the Kwinana Zone,” Capper said.
“This is on top of the strong progress we’ve made with the Network Strategy, which has added a substantial amount of permanent storage to the network as well as improve our capabilities of unloading grain from the truck to our storage system.”
As part of the Network Strategy, the co-op has also installed new equipment and upgraded infrastructure to increase throughput at key sites.
Capper said CBH had completed more than 20 throughput enhancement projects across the network this year.
“We’ve installed or upgraded conveyor systems at a number of our receival sites, and this has the capacity to receive grain faster and therefore potentially reducing delivery times for growers and drivers,” he said.