Incitec Pivot

Incitec Pivot Limited was formed in 2003 through the merger of Incitec Fertilisers and the Pivot group, originally established in 1919 as a Victorian farmers’ co-operative. The fertiliser operations were retained as a distinct subsidiary, Incitec Pivot Fertilisers, under the new corporate structure.

Several of the company’s present-day fertiliser sites have much earlier origins, tracing back to nineteenth-century producers such as Cuming Smith. Fertiliser works established at Yarraville (Melbourne) and Port Adelaide were later absorbed into Commonwealth Fertilisers and Chemicals (1929) and then into ICIANZ, before becoming part of Incitec following ICI’s divestment of Australian operations in the late twentieth century.

The merger created the country’s largest fertiliser supplier, which was subsequently expanded by the acquisition of Southern Cross Fertilisers in 2006 and explosives group Dyno Nobel in 2008.

Operations

Incitec Pivot Fertilisers produces and markets fertilisers for broadacre and specialised agriculture. Its operations include:

Phosphate Hill, Queensland – an integrated mine and fertiliser manufacturing complex producing ammonium phosphates.

Gibson Island, Brisbane – formerly produced urea and ammonia (operations ceased in 2022).

Distribution and blending facilities across Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland.

Controversies

Incitec Pivot Fertilisers, along with its parent company, has attracted scrutiny over the importation of phosphate rock from territories with disputed sovereignty, including Western Sahara. Several ethical investment funds have excluded the company on these grounds.