Our History - The Gardner Smith Group

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Our History

The Gardner Smith Group was founded in Australia in 1920. Initailly a partnership between Charles S Gardner and Henry B Smith, then incorporated as Gardner Smith Pty Limited in 1923. During the early days its operations focused on trading animal products.

Over the years the parent company, now known as Gardner Smith (Holdings) Pty Limited, has continuously grown and diversified and today has subsidiaries located throughout Australia and overseas, offering a range of products and services in markets around the world.

Future opportunities for the Group include further expansion of our storage and processing business, the oilseeds processing business and new emerging markets for our trade and energy services.

Key milestones in the development and growth of the Group are listed below.

Charles S Gardner & H B Smith

Gardner Smith Group - Corporate History Milestones

1920	C S Gardner and H B Smith form partnership.
1923	Gardner Smith incorporated as a proprietray company, becoming one of Australia's leading tallow exporters.
1972	Gardner Smith builds Australia's first shoreside pipeline terminal in Melbourne, dedicated to handling tallow. Terminals at Fremantle and Brisbane soon follow.
1977	First tallow shipments begin from New Zealand.
1979	Gardner Mair established in New Zealand.
1980	Pipeline terminals built in Adelaide and Auckland, and first imports of bulk vegetable oils commenced.
1984	Auckland office opens.
1985	Timaru, New Zealand terminal facility commences operations.
1988	Gardner Mair changes its name to Pacific Terminals NZ Limited
1989	New terminal and processing complex opens in Brisbane.
	Purchase of Riverland Oilseeds, Victoria, Australia.
1990	Joint venture to build a shoreside terminal and distribution centre near Guangzhou, China.
1991	Gardner Smith (Africa) established in Durban, South Africa.
	Acquisition of additional shoreside terminals in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Fremantle.
1993	Representative office opens in Shanghai, China.
1994	Acquisition of terminal facilities in Napier and Bluff, New Zealand.
	Auscol established as a standalone waste oil and fat collection and recycling business in Australia.
1996	Riverland Oilseeds expands capacity with the upgrade to solvent extraction.
1999	Shanghai terminal commissioned.
	Pacific Terminals commences handling hazardous chemicals.
2001	Riverland Oilseeds acquires its second processing plant in Pinjarra, Western Australia.
2002	Durban bleaching plant commissioned.
2004	Gardner Smith (Holdings) established.
2006	Riverland Oilseeds expands with the acquisition of its third plant located at Millicent in South Australia.
2007	Pacific Terminals acquires additional facilities at Mt Maunganui and New Plymouth in New Zealand, and in Australia at Hamilton in Brisbane and Burnie in Tasmania.