About Soilco

History

Soilco Pty Ltd has its origin in 1974 when the Emery family commenced soil sales from their dairy property and the first truck was purchased for deliveries. In 1980, the development of an irrigation hole for fresh water for the dairy property identified a secure, long-term soil resource.

By 1982, Shoalhaven Sand Soil & Gravel was established as a corporate entity by Tony Emery and managed by he and his wife Maria. Tony Emery is a fifth generation resident of Wogamia, a 228-hectare property on the Shoalhaven River, and now the only remaining dairy upstream of Nowra.

In 1985, composting and waste recycling operations commenced to improve the quality of soil products and minimise the use of raw soil. Soilco Pty Limited was formed in 1996 as the corporate umbrella for all the operations of the business.

In July 2000, Soilco opened a retail outlet in Wollongong to complement the manufacturing operation in Nowra and coincided with Soilco extending its waste management services north.

Soilco currently employs 20 full time staff.

Legal Raw Material Source & Composting Facility

With changes to the laws in the early 1990s, there was a major statewide effort to bring existing extraction facilities up to standards that met community expectations. Alone of all the soil extraction sites in the region, Soilco worked hard to meet the standards and gain NSW and Local Government recognition. This was formalised with the 1996 granting to Soilco of Development Approval to extract, compost and manufacture soil products at Wogamia (Shoalhaven City Council Development Consent 95/3205).

Adjacent: 1984 and the search for water!

In March 2002 the NSW Environment Protection Authority issued an environment protection licence for composting and related activities to Soilco. This was the first facility to receive such a licence on the NSW south coast (EPA licence number 11542). An EPA licence is required under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act). Under this Act, facilities that receive over 5,000 tonnes per year of wood waste, garden waste, or natural fibrous material require a composting licence.

Adjacent: 2002 and windrow composting in full progress

Quality of Products

Soilco is committed to ensuring its products meet the relevant Australian Standard and are:

Environmentally friendly
Safe
Effective
Contemporary
Price efficient

In June 2004, Soilco achieved product certification for composts and soil conditioners (AS4454) and landscape soils (AS4419). The five ticks of product approval means that Soilco products comply with the strict guidelines set by Standards Australia. Soil & compost manufacturers that are accredited are regularly audited to assure the guidelines for processing organics are accurately followed. The quality must be proven periodically via laboratory testing by an accredited, certified laboratory. An on-site laboratory must conduct regular testing during interim periods and all these results must be reported to the auditor.

What all this means for the consumer is that Soilco is committed to providing products which come with a guarantee of high quality, performance and consistency. The consumer can order certified products such as Gold Blend Garden Mix, Landscape Native Mix or GO Compost™ with confidence that it will be of a consistent high standard. Consumers with little technical knowledge in this area can buy with confidence, knowing the product they are purchasing is of the highest quality.

Quality of Transport

Soilco’s distribution of products extends across most of the southern NSW population and is achieved through an efficient fleet of trucks. The latest designs in truck and trailer combinations, able to take full advantage of weight limits through continual upgrading of technology, also provide flexible transport options for Soilco.

Soilco aims to provide the highest quality service to its customers in order to ensure their satisfaction, while operating in a safe and professional manner. Soilco’s fleet maintenance is managed by an in house quality assurance system. The program collates existing repair and maintenance information in order to provide a safe and efficient transport services. The program provides documentary and auditable evidence that is required under the National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS).


No load to big or small!