EMERALD Grain has its Edenhope Storage grain handling site on the market.
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Edenhope Storage is a joint venture between Emerald Grain and the Holland family.
It is located in the far west Wimmera and is a road only site.
Emerald Grain chief executive John Murray said Emerald had decided to put its share on the market after the Hollands announced they planned to depart.
“The site, while a wonderful site, from our point of view, is not freight advantaged to our assets at the port of Melbourne,” he said.
“So we thought with the Hollands wanting to sell, we could take the opportunity to explore our options.”
The Edenhope site has been upgraded in the past few years, with more than $2 million in capital upgrades, including improved road access and increased storage capacity.
In 2014 Emerald Grain tripled the site’s storage capacity, adding 40,000 tones of storage and recieval capacity.
Two new storage sheds were built at the time.
Now, there is 85,000 tonnes of capacity at the site, with 60,000 tonnes of that permanent storage.
The site increased in size since opening up as Holland Bulk Storage, reflecting increased grain production in the south-west Wimmera.
Mr Murray said if Emerald did not find a buyer it would continue to operate the site.
He said there had been strong interest so far.
“We’ve had enquiries from both Wimmera and national concerns,” he said.
Should the Edenhope site sell, Emerald Grain would have ten bulk handling sites, down from a peak of 14 a couple of years ago.
However Mr Murray said the company was committed to its storage and handling sector, focusing on using sites that complement Emerald’s port assets.
The Emerald Grain storage network extends across Victoria and southern NSW.
The majority of the sites are linked by rail to port.
