Transportation Group Proud of Its Heritage
One of the world's major transportation groups, TNT, has been headquartered in Sydney ever since its establishment in 1946 as what the company calls "a two-truck operation."
Founded 45 years ago as K.W. Thomas Transport, it prospered in the years after World War II, trading on its increasingly reliable name as an express road-freight carrier.
It was first listed on the Sydney Stock Exchange in 1962, and with the additional capital, it was able to expand and diversify more aggressively.
Presence in Americas, Europe
Since then, TNT has established trucking operations in North and South America and in Europe and, at the same time, has expanded into aviation and marine transport.
The group finance director at TNT, David Mortimer, said he sees the company's Sydney base as no handicap to being a major global transportation concern - though some might regard the city as too remote from some of the company's offshore operations.
"Sydney has excellent communications, both internationally and domestically, and is a transport and communications hub for the whole South Pacific region," Mr. Mortimer said. "And TNT's experience with express freight over the vast geographical area of Australia has given us an advantage over foreign competition in overseas markets."
An Expansionist Attitude
Furthermore, Mr. Mortimer pointed out, Sydney makes available an extensive and sophisticated range of financial services, which he said has helped TNT's expansion.
"Sydney also provides a wealth of talented people for management, and during our early days, it was home-grown managers who were sent out to other countries to start up our operations," Mr. Mortimer said.
Sydney tends to be an outward-looking city, and it was this characteristic of its inhabitants and businesses that contributed to TNT's desire to move out from its home market and expand onto other continents.
It is a growth record that the group treats with considerable pride, according to Mr. Mortimer.
