Incitec Pivot Ltd. (IPL), Southbank, Victoria, last week provided further context on its investment in the Australian Bio Fert Co. (ABF), announced in December (GM Dec. 17, 2021). The investment is being made through the company’s Incitec Pivot Fertilisers (IPF) business.
As previously reported, IPF said it initially will invest A$38 million (approximately US$27.2 million at current exchange rates) in the Rowville, Victoria-based company and build Australia’s first large-scale sustainable fertilizer plant.
IPL Managing Director and CEO Jeanne Johns confirmed in a company Business Update call on Jan. 19 that site works on the 75,000 mt/y granular biofertilizer plant near Lethbridge, Victoria, is due to start in the second quarter of this year. Product is expected to available in commercial quantities to customers in the middle of 2023.
“Any further investment will be demand-led and subject to our return on investment criteria,” Johns told analysts.
But she said IPL anticipates potentially three Australian plants in total to service the bio-fert market, while opportunities outside of Australia will be pursued with the licensing business model.
The Australian bio-fert business enables IPL to leverage its distribution platform into the high-quality horticultural sector, with a premium fertilizer offer that has performance and sustainability at its core, said Johns.
While the product is ideally suited to the premium horticulture sector, an extensive product range has been developed to suit a broad range of Australian crop market sectors, she said.