Trucking company Te Kauwhata Transport has been bought from receivership by Waikato’s Freight Lines group of companies, which says it will retain all 100-plus staff.
Te Kauwhata Transport went into receivership nearly a fortnight ago, and it is understood negotiations with Otorohanga-based Freight Lines were under way within 24 hours.
Freight Lines director Peter Barker says his company, which already employs more than 200 people, moved quickly to negotiate with receiver PwC because it did not want to lose Te Kauwhata Transport staff, who were key to the operation.
Freight Lines, which operates throughout the country, is owned by James Barker Family Trust interests, which also own Cook Strait shipping company Strait Shipping, and livestock transport company Stock Lines, which operates 30 trucks out of Otorohanga, Marlborough and Canterbury.
According to Stuff.co.nz, James Barker, who is Peter Barker’s father, was a co-founder of Otorohanga Transport, which celebrated its 50th anniversary at Easter.
A new company, Te Kauwhata Transport 2020, was formed this week to run the Te Kauwhata acquisition, which operates 60 trucks in the Waikato-Bay of Plenty-Auckland triangle, and counts among its customers brewers Lion and DB, and Plumbing World.
Peter Barker says Te Kauwhata Transport offered good synergies with Freight Lines and had an attractive customer base.
“Te Kauwhata Transport staff have been “fantastic” during what has been a trying time for them,” says Barker.
