WEST PERTH, AUSTRALIA — CBH Group on April 9 celebrated its 80th anniversary with a dinner.            
CBH Group Chairman Neil Wandel said the night was a chance to reflect on where CBH has come from and celebrate with growers, customers, and industry partners.

“We recognized a number of farming families who have been delivering to CBH for more than 68 years, almost as long as CBH has been around, as well as our longest serving employee, Spike Jones, for his 45 years of continued service at our Merredin site,” he said. “We were also honored to have the Japanese Consul General attend to represent Japan as CBH’s oldest customer and loyal trading friend. It is truly wonderful to have all of our partners to share together what we’ve achieved over the last 80 years but also look to the future.”

CBH Group Chief Executive Officer Andy Crane said that the cooperative has a proud history that has always had a focus on servicing the needs of grain growers by finding the most efficient means to store and move their grain to market.

“When we began in 1933, CBH had just five trial sites and received just 42,000 tonnes of wheat. Compare that to just a year ago when we celebrated the record breaking 15 million tonnes of grain receivals and you can clearly see how CBH has come a long way. Being a grower owned co-operative has been pivotal in making sure we keep up and evolve with growers own farming businesses,” he said. “We have seen unprecedented change in the agricultural landscape over this time, but none more pronounced as the last decade with significant consolidation within the industry.

“We have seen the cooperative grow and develop, not only in the way we store and move grain, but also through investment opportunities along the value chain. We are confident that a solely grower focused export supply chain dedicated to low fees and good service proves a very competitive business model. In an increasingly competitive and challenging environment, the CBH Group remains committed to positioning Western Australian growers for a strong and exciting future.  Reflecting on our history gives us even greater perspective on where the CBH Group needs to strive for our growers.”