HISTORY

NZ EXPRESS TRANSPORT is possibly the oldest New Zealand transport company.

NZ Express, founded in Dunedin in 1867, had by 1920 opened offices in 11 New Zealand cities and provincial centres. The Christchurch office then stood on the corner of Manchester and Hereford Streets.

By the mid-1930’s, and due largely to the Depression and stock market crash the company had broken up with various regional offices being sold to new independant owners. The new operators would still call themselves NZ Express with their region after that in brackets. The red and cream colour scheme remained on the vehicles.

Eventually all the NZ Express companies, excluding Auckland, were absorbed by other firms. Auckland had been purchased by Maurice Simson who eventually through acquisition moved into Wellington and in 1974 acquired Brightlings Transport (also est 1867) and the NZ Express name was again on the roads of Christchurch.

The original Brightlings depot at Woolston is still the site of NZ Express Transport today. The Auckland and Wellington branches were closed following the deregulation of the industry in the 1980’s.

Through its history NZ Express has been involved not only in cartage but also the importation of trucks and buses as well as acting as agents for Orwell electric trucks, international forwarding including air freight handling and customs brokerage and household removals.

Over the following years the core business was to be general metropolitan cartage with strong emphasis and involvement with the Port of Lyttelton. Eventually four strong divisions evolved, Road Transport, Warehousing, International Forwarding and Container Services.

NZ Express Transport (Christchurch) Ltd, still owned by the Simson family, was sold in 2005 to the Lyttelton Port Company. In 2006 the Lyttelton Port Company sold the International Division to a local international freight forwarder and the Transport Division to a consortium of Mid-Canterbury carriers who would retain the NZ Express name. Lyttelton Port Company retained the land; Container Services and Warehousing under the LPC City Depot brand.

NZ Express Transport (2006) Ltd operates from the LPC City Depot site on Chapmans Road.

Our current business structure can be viewed on our Profile and Services pages.