Kain & Shelton commenced trading in Mt Gambier in 1945 and carried its first loads into Melbourne in 1946, specialising in the cartage of paper and timber. As Mt Gambier grew and its industries developed, particularly the timber industry, so did Kain and Shelton.
In 1950 K&S pioneered the use of refrigerated vans in Australia. In 1954, realising the importance of being self sufficient, K&S opened its first Ampol fuel agency.
In 1955 K&S established depot operations in Melbourne, initially as a shared facility. Over the next 12 years we opened terminals in Sydney and Adelaide. 1967 also saw our entry into the rail market. In 1972 the business was acquired by AA Scott and Softwood Holdings. Both businesses were in a substantial growth path.
Over the next 10 years K&S diversified its operations and opened its Brisbane and Perth terminals in 1978. In that same year revenues grew to $5m per annum.
In 1982, in recognition of our national capability, we changed our name from K&S Lake City Freighters Pty Ltd to K&S Freighters Pty Ltd.
By 1986 revenues had reached $50m per annum. At that stage K&S was primarily operating in the road based transport area operating a fleet of single articulated vehicles, and also a number of rail containers. 1986 saw the public Listing of K&S on the Stock Exchange.
In 1991, we started operating the first B Double combination in Victoria. This concept, well regarded for its efficiency, was soon operating on all of our national routes and by 1993 revenues had risen to $150m per annum in our core linehaul and express businesses.
Recognising the need to complement our services with a more complete range of service offerings for our clients, K&S purchased the Geelong based Blakistons Transport Group. This was our first move into the provision of total logistics services. The business was soon renamed K&S Integrated Distribution.
In 2000, K&S sold its Express Division and concentrated on its core linehaul services. In the same year we expanded our geographic coverage to include Central Queensland by acquiring the Brisbane based FH Transport. This also gave us access to the Port of Brisbane through the Fisherman Islands facility.
In 2001 K&S acquired Stepnell Transport, and in 2002 we expanded into the New Zealand market.
Today K&S is a true multi modal service provider with a geographic and functional coverage that is second to none. |