JAMES CUMMING & SONS

A historic name in the Australian iron and steel industry

About James
Cumming & Sons

A proud history of innovation

Few businesses can claim more than a century-long legacy.

James Cumming, with experience owning and operating blacking mills in Scotland, migrated to Australia and founded James Cumming & Sons in Sydney in 1909.

Assisted by Jack Lang, later a New South Wales Premier, the Cumming family bought land on Parramatta Road, Auburn and initially supplied blacking for steelworks, then expanded into industrial minerals. In the 1980s, steel production changes phased out blacking. Motivated by government water filtration mandates, James Cumming & Sons established a plant and started manufacturing industrial filter media.

Multiple sack of Australian filtered coal placed in the yard of a warehouse

Pioneering Australian Filter Coal

At the time, dual media filtration with sand and imported anthracite was the most common method. However, company owner John Cumming identified a high-quality local bituminous coal as an alternative to expensive imported anthracites.

This Australian Filter Coal has superior Hardness, Acid Solubility and Specific Gravity characteristics that enhance filtration performance.
John Cumming equipped the plant to produce C&S Brand Australian Filter Coal to the exact particle sizing for the water treatment industry. In the mid-1990s, we began producing coal-based Activated Carbons in response to water treatment demand.

Our ongoing journey in coal and carbon

Now, with over 115 years of industry expertise, we have a modern team, including tradespeople, technical sales engineers and experts in Filter Coal and Activated Carbon.

Our mission remains the same – to manufacture on specification products leading to environmentally positive outcomes, particularly with leading water filtration, purification materials and environmental remediation products.

We proudly service the environmental services industry, including water treatment, air purification and soil rehabilitation, as well as the iron, steel and glass-manufacturing sectors.

Our product range

Activated Carbon

Granular & Powdered Forms
  • High internal surface area
  • Rapid diffusion kinetics
  • Greater loading capacity
  • Optimal mesh sizing
  • Made to premium standards

Support Filter Media

Silica & Garnet Gravels
  • Ideal specific gravity
  • Low acid solubility
  • Optimal hardness
  • Consistent particle sizing
  • Select raw material bodies

Graded Coal

Glass Colourisation
  • Consistent particle sizing
  • Reliable fixed carbon content
  • Strict quality control
  • Low inherent moisture
  • Cost effective glass colourisation

Coal Dust

Iron Foundries
  • Thermal and calorific properties
  • Consistent volatiles content
  • No foreign impurities
  • Very low sulphur
  • Creates a fine lustrous iron cast

Australian Zeolite

Ammonia Removal
  • Naturally occurring mineral body
  • Turbidity and ammonia removal
  • Heavy metal removal
  • Clinoptilolite largest component
  • Wide range of applications

Australian Filter Coal

C&S Brand
  • Superior durability
  • Optimal uniformity coefficient
  • Consistent particle sizing
  • Low specific gravity
  • Ideal filtration quality

Contact us

for your Filter Coal, Activated Carbon and Carbon additive needs

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