CSBP Limited is an Australian fertiliser and chemical company based in Kwinana,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It is a subsidiary of WesCEF, which in turn is part of the industrials division of the

Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...

conglomerate.

Current operations

CSBP produces a number of products for the agricultural, mining, and industrial sectors, including fertilisers, industrial chemicals, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and wood-plastic composites. It has two subsidiaries – Australian Vinyls (based in

Laverton, Victoria Laverton established in 1886, is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Hobsons Bay and Wyndham local government areas. Laverton recorded a population of ...

) and ModWood Technologies (based in

Campbellfield, Victoria Campbellfield is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Campbellfield recorded a population of 4,977 at the 2021 census. History Camp ...

). CSBP additionally holds joint ownership of Queensland Nitrate Project (QNP), a joint venture with

Dyno Nobel Dyno Nobel is a manufacturer of explosives. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Incitec Pivot Limited operating in Australia, Canada, the United States, Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, South America, Papua New Guinea and Turkey. They provide the expl ...

. CSBP has its head office in Kwinana. It has a soil and plant laboratory in

Bibra Lake Bibra may refer to: Organisations * British Industrial Biological Research Association, now known as BIBRA in the UK Places * Bibra, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, a village in the district Schmalkalden-Meiningen, Thuringia, Germany * Bibra, Saale-Hol ...

and regional fertiliser distribution centres in Albany, Bunbury, Esperance and

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

. There are also regional fertiliser depots in Corrigin, Dalwallinu, Goomalling, Merredin, Tambellup, and Wagin.

History

CSBP has its origins in Cuming Smith & Co., which in 1910 began making fertilisers at

Bassendean, Western Australia __NOTOC__ Bassendean (once referred to as West Guildford) is a north-eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its local government area is the Town of Bassendean. It is also the name of the sand dune system on the Swan Coastal Plain known ...

, under the "Florida" brand name. It was the first company in Australia to manufacture

superphosphate Triple superphosphate is a component of fertilizer that primarily consists of monocalcium phosphate, Ca(H2PO4)2. Triple superphosphate is obtained by treating phosphate rock with phosphoric acid. Traditional routes for extraction of phosphate rock ...

.CSBP History
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CSML

In 1927, Cuming Smith and two other firms –

Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company was a Tasmanian mining company formed on 29 March 1893, most commonly referred to as ''Mount Lyell''. Mount Lyell was the dominant copper mining company of the West Coast from 1893 to 1994, and was based in ...

and Westralian Farmers Superphosphates – established a new joint venture, Cuming Smith Mount Lyell Farmers Fertiliser Limited (known as CSML). Each company held a one-third share. The establishment of CSML came at a time when the agricultural sector in Western Australia was rapidly expanding. With a capacity output of 240,000 tonnes per year, the company produced almost all of the superphosphate used in WA – a total of 1,925,000 tonnes in its first 20 years of operation. CSML commissioned new plants in Bunbury and

in 1930, in order to reduce the distribution distance for their products. A plant in Albany was commissioned in 1954, and at the same time CSML and Cresco Fertilisers (a

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n firm) formed a new joint venture, the Albany Superphosphate Company. Albany Superphosphate operated both in Albany and in Esperance, where a plant was established in 1962.

CSBP

In 1963,

Boral Boral Limited is Australia's largest building and construction materials supplier, with market-leading positions in quarries, cement, concrete and asphalt. Boral is actively pursuing a decarbonisation strategy through recycling of demolition ma ...

purchased Mount Lyell's share in CSML. They onsold their share to BP the following year, and CSML was consequently renamed Cuming Smith British Petroleum and Farmers Limited (CSBP). CSBP commissioned superphosphate and sulphuric acid plants in Kwinana in 1967. The Kwinana Nitrogen Company was established the following year, as a joint venture between CSBP (20 percent) and BP (80 percent). In 1970, CSBP also took over its main rival, Cresco Fertilisers. As a result of these changes, the company's plants in Bassendean and

North Fremantle North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

ceased operations in 1971. Three additional plants in Kwinana were commissioned in the 1970s. In October 1977, Westralian Farmers (now

) launched a takeover bid for CSBP, valuing the company at $60 million – three times what Westralian Farmers itself was valued at. Driven by

John Bennison John Bennison Order of Australia, AM Order of the British Empire, OBE (3 July 1924 – 6 May 2017) was an Australian businessman known for his long involvement with Wesfarmers. He began work at the company in 1954, and as managing director from 19 ...

, the deal did not go through until September 1979, after two years of protracted negotiations. At the time, it was the largest corporate takeover in Australian history.Wesfarmers: empire that happened by accident
''Australian Financial Review'' During the 1980s, CSBP began to increase its emphasis on industrial chemicals. In 1986, Wesfarmers acquired BP's one-third shared in CSBP, becoming the sole owner. The following year, they also bought out BP's share in the Kwinana Nitrogen Company. In 1988, CSBP formed Australian Gold Reagents Limited (AGR) as a joint venture with Coogee Chemicals and the Australian Industry Development Corporation (AIDC). AIDC withdrew in 1997, leaving CSBP with a 75 percent share. CSBP began trading as Wesfarmers CSBP in 1995, but in 2003 became just CSBP Limited.

External links

CSBP Limited

References

{{Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Kwinana Beach, Western Australia 1910 establishments in Australia Chemical companies of Australia Fertilizer companies of Australia Companies based in Perth, Western Australia