Historical background
CSR Company was incorporated in 1855 in Sydney as a sugar refining company. CSR are initials that refer to Colonial Sugar Refinery. It was incorporated to refine imported raw sugar. With time it has diversified its business to supplying building material, it’s also in the Investment business with a shareholding of 25% in Tornago Aluminum Smelter (The University of Virginia, 1955). It has been in operation for the last over 150 years and registered as a trading company in Australian security trading. The company’s first venture outside Australia was in 1883 when it established a refinery in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Company is currently known as New Zealand Sugar Company, the Australia Company owns 75% (Haddon, 1993). The Company divested its business into building material production in 1942, when it built a plaster mill in Sydney and later in 1947, started the business of making plaster for sale in Australia. Its operation is in Australia, Asia and New Zealand. Currently, it owns seven sugar mills in Australia and is the leading building material producer and sugar in Australia. The company was incorporated in the era that the business of sugar was highly politicized and took 75 years for the company to establish itself internationally. Currently, there are approximately 10,000 workers in the company.
How internationalization took place for CSR
Amidst the political influence in the sugar business that the company was initially incorporated to undertake, it took innovations and making strategic business decisions for the company to successfully venture into the world market. It ventured into the New Zealand sugar market in I883 when it bought strategic farmland in Birkenhead. The strategy here is that of the direct venture after seeing an opportunity and taking well-calculated risk (Cateora, 2009).
The land was close to the port and had a deep water table at the disposal of the company. Fifteen years after its incorporation it ventured into the Melbourne market. Here the business was sugar exportation. In the following twenty years, after the Melbourne venture, there were already two other sugar mills that had been made in Queensland and Fiji and started refining locally produced raw sugar, the method of diversifying that they used at this early age was to establish a potential market area, analyzing the risk and taking it. During this era, we can also notice that there was a change in the source of its raw material to locally produced ones this is in the effort to strengthen its base.
It was in 1923 that the company after being in operation in Queensland that the government gave the company the advantage to operate as a monopoly and refine all the locally produced sugar. This lasted until 1989. The fact that it was operating in a large market as a monopoly give it the base to strategize on venturing into the international market. It was building its brand name.
To venture into China, Thailand and Malaysia, it used the joint ownership method whereby it could join with a local company and then in the future it bails out the other party to own the company. The company also has been using the acquisition method, for example in CSR America acquired Florida Concrete pipe company. All the above methods of positioning in the international market were after an analysis of the market situation in the places of diversifying (McClure, 1987).
How CSR plays a significant role in the sugar industry
Sugar is an important commodity in the life of human beings, it has various uses and its continued production and supply of finished products are essential. The company is the largest sugar company in Australia has been in the business for over one hundred and fifty years now. It has been fulfilling this need since then and is responding to the growth of the market well. Looking at the farmer’s point of view, the company offers a ready market to the sugar cane farmers; initially, the company was using only imported raw sugar for its production but later started to use local raw sugar. By the ready market, the company is raising confidence in the farmers and enhancing their production. This has a positive effect on the country’s economy.
Alongside sugar production, there is the production of ethanol that is used as production material in factories as fuel, alcohol and as a solvent of substances. On the direct angle, there are 10,000 employees in the company and all have dependents at home. The sugar farming business is a sector worth $1.75 billion and is the major activity in rural Australia, the company being the largest producer of sugar then its participation is crucial. The company has a well-developed brand name and thus can influence the prices of sugar (Cane growers, 2005).
In times of raw production, it has always have had enough in the store to fulfill the demand and keep prices normal. Finally the company exports some of its finished products and this gives the country foreign income.
How CSR plays a significant role in the building material
In all countries today, there is a booming industry, building and construction. The government is making up roads, the business men are making homes for sale, and individuals are making their houses. Finally, there is a building that is in renovation or repairs The Company started producing for commercial purposes in 1947.
Their first products were plaster production. All these works require materials, CSR, is capitalizing on this section and coming up with market target building materials, the materials that the company is currently providing are; fiber cement sheeting, roofing tiles aerated concrete products, bricks, and systems to support plasterboard construction. The customer is allowed to make a choice out of the available brands and styles, at the same time he can make an order on what he wants to be made (Howells, 2006).
This order will be undertaken after an understanding of the customer’s interests. Building a house has never been an easy thing due to the costs that are involved; the company is involved in various research projects to come out with cheaper but durable ways of building.
On the other hand, the building styles are changing by the day, there is the adaption of different designs and styles of building to suit the client, alongside the company developing certain designs, it advises the client according to his capability on the kind of house that they can fit. There is the development of new products as the technology and interests grow, this has been seen as in the course of making a lasting brand name. The building land is diminishing by the day and the company advises its client on the effective ways of utilizing the one that they have (Ward-Harvey, 2009).
Reference List
Cane growers (2005) Cane growers expect a delay in payment to be brief following the meeting with Truss. Web.
Cateora, P. (2009) International Marketing. New York, McGraw-Hill.
Haddon, K. (1993) Birkenhead: The Way We Were Auckland, NZ: Birkenhead Library, North Shore City Council.
Howells, S. (2006) Pretty in Pink: New Zealand Heritage, New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
McClure, M. (1987) The Story of Birkenhead. Auckland, NZ. Birkenhead City Council.
The University of Virginia (1955) The Australian journal of politics and history, Volumes 1-2. University of Queensland Press.
Ward-Harvey, K. (2009) Fundamental Building Materials: Fourth Edition. Florida Universal-Publishers.