Australia
August 25, 2016

Cotton Seed Distributors announces a $41m redevelopment of it’s ‘Shenstone’ cotton seed processing plant and laboratory based near Wee Waa, NSW, having received approval from the Narrabri Shire Council and the Joint Regional Planning Panel.

Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD) is Australia’s world class cotton planting seed and technology supplier. Founded 49 years ago at Wee Waa as a member based organisation, CSD’s long term partnership with CSIRO delivers cotton cultivars that yield three times the world average and almost double that of Australia’s nearest competitor.

CSD’s cotton planting seed processing plant is based near the rural town of Wee Waa in North West NSW and moved its operations to the existing site some 33 years ago. The foresight and investment in the early 1980s allowed CSD to meet the volatile demands of the dynamic and expanding modern cotton industry through to the current day.

In 2014, CSD’s Board and Management developed a 2020 strategic plan for the company, taking into account CSD’s long term agreements and partnerships as well as the exacting processing requirements of the modern cotton cultivars. Through this process, it was identified that the existing cotton seed processing plant may not meet the future needs of the Australian industry. “While the existing processing plant has been able to meet the needs of the industry, we need to be able to support the Australian cotton industry for at least the next 30 years” said Mr James Kahl, CSD’s Chairman. “We looked at various options for building a new plant, including relocating to a greenfield site, however our preferred option is to redevelop our current site at ‘Shenstone’, Wee Waa”.

Over the last 2 years, CSD’s Site Redevelopment team have worked to develop plans for a world class processing plant, new laboratory and office complex which will ensure the company is positioned to meet the demands of a progressive cotton industry for the foreseeable future.

“With the approval of the $41m Development Application, our team are now finalising the design of the plant and equipment to install in the new facilities. This will require substantial further investment by CSD over the next 18 months” said Peter Graham, CSD’s Managing Director.

The new plant is scheduled for construction commencing in January 2017 and will be fully operational for the 2018 processing season.

Website: http://www.csd.net.au

Published: August 25, 2016