Mainfreight
Encyclopedia
Mainfreight Limited is a New Zealand
based trucking
and logistics
firm operating in Australia
, China, the United States of America and New Zealand
. Bruce Plested founded the firm in 1978, with $2700 and a 1969 Bedford truck. He was later joined by Neil Graham. When the firm was founded, it entered a highly regulated transport market. A licence from New Zealand Railways Corporation
was needed to carry freight over 150 km. When deregulation of land transport occurred in 1982, the firm quickly took advantage of the opportunities presented and won a large share of the freight market. Currently, the New Zealand
arm of Mainfreight operates over 500 trucks in its various divisions.
The firm listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange in 1996. Former Minister of Railways
Richard Prebble
is a director of Mainfreight.
. This operation was expanded with depots in Melbourne
and Brisbane
. It now has nine company depots in Australia and relies on agents and third parties in the Northern Territory, Tasmania and regional Australia.
's largest trucking firms. This takeover was in response to the purchase of Tranz Rail
by Australian transport firm Toll Holdings
.
Duffy Books in Homes
was developed by author Alan Duff and is designed to introduce children in lower decile schools to the magic of reading by giving 7 books a year to each child that they can keep and enjoy. Mainfreight got on board as one of the founding sponsors and Bruce Plested maintains his involvement as Chairman of the Board. It is based on the belief that the children respond so well to the program because of the sense of ownership and empowerment that having books of their very own gives to them. This fosters an on-going love of reading and in turn learning. This programme has given away 7 million books in New Zealand since 1996 and Mainfreight has exported this philosophy to sister branches in Australia and the USA with great success.
The Life Education Trust is another endeavour that Mainfreight are involved with. Every year - with their endearing mascot Harold the Giraffe - The Life Education Trust trailers visit hundreds of schools throughout New Zealand promoting good health and raising awareness of health related issues that face young New Zealanders. Lots of activities and interactions with the tutors and Harold make it a memorable and fun experience for the kids and means that the programme is an extremely successful marriage of entertainment and education.
Mainfreight Auckland has had a longstanding and extremely close association with Bairds Road Primary school for a number of years. So close in fact that the school controversially chose to change its name to Bairds Mainfreight Primary in 1997.Other branches have followed suit and have their own special relationships with schools in their areas.
Mainfreight also run an in-house scholarship programme for children of team members who are entering university for tertiary study.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
based trucking
Truck driver
A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
and logistics
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
firm operating in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, China, the United States of America and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Bruce Plested founded the firm in 1978, with $2700 and a 1969 Bedford truck. He was later joined by Neil Graham. When the firm was founded, it entered a highly regulated transport market. A licence from New Zealand Railways Corporation
New Zealand Railways Corporation
KiwiRail Network, formerly ONTRACK , is the infrastructure arm of KiwiRail. The ONTRACK trading name was introduced in 2004 after the government repurchased all of New Zealand's rail infrastructure from Toll NZ. It does not operate revenue rolling stock...
was needed to carry freight over 150 km. When deregulation of land transport occurred in 1982, the firm quickly took advantage of the opportunities presented and won a large share of the freight market. Currently, the New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
arm of Mainfreight operates over 500 trucks in its various divisions.
The firm listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange in 1996. Former Minister of Railways
Minister of Railways (New Zealand)
The Minister of Railways was the minister in the government responsible for the New Zealand Railways Department 1895–1981, the New Zealand Railways Corporation 1981–1993, and New Zealand Rail Limited 1990–1993...
Richard Prebble
Richard Prebble
Richard William Prebble CBE, born 7 February 1948, was for many years a member of the New Zealand Parliament. Initially a member of the Labour Party, he joined the newly formed ACT New Zealand party under Roger Douglas in 1996.-Early and personal life:...
is a director of Mainfreight.
Mainfreight Distribution
The firm's domestic freight and logistics business in Australia, Mainfreight Distribution, was founded in 1989, with an operation in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. This operation was expanded with depots in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. It now has nine company depots in Australia and relies on agents and third parties in the Northern Territory, Tasmania and regional Australia.
Mainfreight International
Mainfreight International was Mainfreight's first international sea and airfreight business and was started in 1984 by Bruce Plested's brother Gerald. They established agencies in the early days with Australian, Pacific Island and United States freight forwarders and the established agents in most major trading partner countries of New Zealand. With the takeover of Australian freight forwarder ISS Express lines in 1998 they established the Australian international freight business. With the takeover of the Owens Group in 2003 they purchased Owens International Australia. In 2006 the New Zealand Mainfreight International and Owens International businesses were also merged to make Mainfreight Owens International Ltd (now Mainfreight International). In 2007 Mainfreight purchased Halford International (formerly Halford Young) to increase their airfreight abilities and strengthen their global network. Mainfreight has international operations in the USA through its CaroTrans International Inc and most recently Mainfreight International Inc businesses after the 2007 acquisition of Target Logistics, in Asia (nine branches in China, one each in Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong).Owens takeover
In 2003 Mainfreight bought Owens Group Limited, one of New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's largest trucking firms. This takeover was in response to the purchase of Tranz Rail
Tranz Rail
Tranz Rail, formally Tranz Rail Holdings Ltd , was the main rail operator in New Zealand from 1991 until it was purchased by Toll Holdings in 2003.- Formation :...
by Australian transport firm Toll Holdings
Toll Holdings
TOLL , properly TOLL Holdings Limited, is Australia's largest transport company, based in Melbourne, Victoria. The company has operations in road, rail, sea and air in 55 countries....
.
Target Logistics acquisition
In 2007, Mainfreight acquired Target Logistics, a U.S. based forwarder with 34 U.S. offices, and an extensive agent network. In 2008, the U.S. locations were re-branded as Mainfreight USA.Community Involvement
Since the very beginning Bruce Plested has instilled within the Mainfreight culture a strong community responsibility with an emphasis on early learning and achievement through education.Duffy Books in Homes
Duffy Books in Homes
Duffy Books in Homes is the trading name of The Alan Duff Charitable Foundation. It is a New Zealand registered, literacy-focused charitable organization which has links to similar organisations in the USA and Australia.-History:...
was developed by author Alan Duff and is designed to introduce children in lower decile schools to the magic of reading by giving 7 books a year to each child that they can keep and enjoy. Mainfreight got on board as one of the founding sponsors and Bruce Plested maintains his involvement as Chairman of the Board. It is based on the belief that the children respond so well to the program because of the sense of ownership and empowerment that having books of their very own gives to them. This fosters an on-going love of reading and in turn learning. This programme has given away 7 million books in New Zealand since 1996 and Mainfreight has exported this philosophy to sister branches in Australia and the USA with great success.
The Life Education Trust is another endeavour that Mainfreight are involved with. Every year - with their endearing mascot Harold the Giraffe - The Life Education Trust trailers visit hundreds of schools throughout New Zealand promoting good health and raising awareness of health related issues that face young New Zealanders. Lots of activities and interactions with the tutors and Harold make it a memorable and fun experience for the kids and means that the programme is an extremely successful marriage of entertainment and education.
Mainfreight Auckland has had a longstanding and extremely close association with Bairds Road Primary school for a number of years. So close in fact that the school controversially chose to change its name to Bairds Mainfreight Primary in 1997.Other branches have followed suit and have their own special relationships with schools in their areas.
Mainfreight also run an in-house scholarship programme for children of team members who are entering university for tertiary study.