Who are we

History

Since beginning in 1971 as a ‘backyard producer’ of Copper Sulphate, Coogee Chemicals has grown extensively to boast a diverse range of products and services.

Coogee Chemicals was formed in the early 1970s by thirteen individual investors, mainly farmers, with the intent of producing Copper Sulphate for agricultural purposes. However, due to a lack of technical engineering skills, the group failed to produce a positive cash flow. At this point, Gordon Martin bought 45% of the equity and restructured the company.

In 1976, Mr Martin saw the merits in diversifying the company’s product offering, and began production of Sodium Silicate. Through buying out competitors and manufacturing their own raw materials, Coogee Chemicals placed great emphasis on independence and diversification.

An aerosol packaging facility purchased in 1978 was amongst the company’s attempts for product diversification. However, with a lack of marketing, retail and distribution expertise, the operation was a failure, resulting in a realisation that the company’s core strengths lay in production, storage and transport of industrial chemicals.

In 1982, an Aluminium Sulphate plant was commissioned, and in 1983 the company began to establish a tank terminal adjacent to the Kwinana manufacturing facility.

In 1985, the company commenced a Dangerous Goods transport operation with caustic soda road tankers and commissioned Ferrous Sulphate Heptahydrate and Monohydrate plants.

In 1986, Coogee Chemicals entered into a joint venture with Wesfarmers CSBP to manufacture liquid sodium cyanide at Kwinana. The following year, Coogee entered into a joint venture with Nufarm to build a Chlor-Alkali plant in southern Western Australia.

In 1989, a Sodium Aluminate plant was commissioned, and a second joint venture with Nufarm was established to build another Chlor-Alkali Plant at Kwinana.

The 1990’s saw growth in a number of areas for Coogee Chemicals, particularly in joint ventures and product expansion. In 1990, Coogee entered into a joint venture with Daxin Petroleum of Singapore to import and distribute gasoline and diesel fuels under the AMGAS banner. Then in 1991, another joint venture was established with Pride-Chem Singapore and Technogas Malaysia to manufacture Copper Oxides at Malaka in Malaysia. During 1993, a tank terminal was established at Port Hedland for the import of Sulphuric Acid; Western Biotechnology Ltd was purchased from Roche; and interest in the Malaysian joint venture was increased to 50%.

In 1994, a Granulation Plant was commissioned for the production of trace element fertilisers.

In 1995, Coogee entered into an agreement to terminal fuel requirements for Mobil (Aust) Pty Ltd. In the same year, a tank terminal was constructed in Townsville Queensland in joint venture with Lewer Corporation, and a Sulphur Milling Plant was commissioned.

In 1996, Coogee entered into a joint venture with Tioxide (Malaysia) for construction of a Ferrous Sulphate plant. In addition, Coogee Acid Terminals were constructed and commissioned in July for handling and storage of 98% Sulphuric Acid.

In 1997, a number of new projects took flight, including: the commissioning of a Chemical Reagent Manufacturing plant at BHP Cannington; the construction and commissioning of the Ammonium Chloride plant at Kwinana; the construction and commissioning of the Ferrous Sulphate plant at Teluk Kalung in Malaysia, in joint venture with Tioxide; the expansion of the Queensland Terminals facility in Townsville from 5,000 to 17,000 tonnes of Sulphuric Acid; and finally the purchase of 55% interest in AMPAC Pty Ltd, a manufacturer of Copper Sulphate located on the MIM ltd mine site at Mount Isa.

In 1998, Coogee continued to commission and construct a number of plants, including: the second Sodium Cyanide plant; the Kwinana Liquid Xanthate plant; Pride-Chem Industries Copper Oxy-chloride plant in Malaysia; and the Chemical Reagent Manufacturing plant at the Pasminco Century Zinc Mine.

In 1999, Sulphuric Acid handling for Sun Metals (Korea Zinc) commenced at Townsville, and the Kwinana Fuel Terminal upgrade for Mobil was completed.

In 2000, Coogee purchased the Methanol Research Plant from BHP (the only one of its kind in Australia); constructed a Molten Sulphur plant at Kwinana; purchased a Tank in Darwin for additional terminalling business; and upgraded the Port Hedland terminal after securing of long term association with the Nifty Copper Operation.

A second Liquid Xanthates plant located in Mount Isa, Queensland, was completed in 2001. In addition, the Sulphur/Bentonite granulated fertiliser market was entered into. Finally in 2001, the acquisition of the AC/RL3 oil and gas field was completed, allowing it to be used as a key building block for a floating methanol plant project.

In the first quarter of 2003, Coogee commissioned a Super White Hydrate plant. Based on the precipitation of high purity alumina hydrate, Super White Hydrate is used as a colourant and filler in the artificial marble industry.

Also in 2003, Coogee Chemicals also purchased from BHP and Canadian Petroleum an undeveloped oil field in the Timor Sea. The oil and gas interests have grown significantly and in 2005 were demerged into a separate entity, Coogee Resources.

In 2005, Magellan Metals awarded a contract to Coogee Chemicals for the construction of a reagent facility and the supply of reagents to their lead operations, 50kms west of Wiluna. The reagent facility was successfully put into operation later that year and further optimised by the commissioning of the Coogee StoL tanker – an in-house design enabling greater payloads of reagents to be delivered to remote sites.

Today, Coogee Chemicals supplies its products to both the Australian and International market. It has established itself as a significant player as a Chemical Manufacturer, Tank Terminal Operator and Transport provider.