Milestones

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.

Throughout the 1960's, K&S opened terminals in Sydney and Adelaide.
1967 also saw K&S enter 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 eight years K&S diversified its operations and opened its Brisbane terminal in 1978
and Perth terminal in 1979.  In that same year revenues grew to $5m per annum.

In 1982, in recognition of K&S' 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.

1988 saw the public listing of K&S on the Austalian Stock Exchange.

In 1991, K&S 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.

1991 also saw the start of our first true customer partnership.  K&S, in conjunction with Border Express and Finemores, established Smart Distribution in support of Australian Newsprint Mills.

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 commodity based businesses.

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 supporting Fletcher Forests.

In December 2003, K&S acquired Cochranes Transport in New Zealand, which gave K&S access to a number of strategically important industry sectors and an important infrastructure base.

In August 2004, K&S Central Queensland was renamed K&S Bulk.  This change recognised the unique nature of transport operations in Central and North Queensland.  The re-branding has allowed K&S to market bulk services on a national basis.

September 2004, the Rocklea depot was sold and a new Coopers Plains Depot acquired.
2005, acquired McCarthy Transport and North Eastern Transport in New Zealand.
2006, acquired DTM Transport.
2007, opened our new state of the art depot in Truganina, Victoria.
2008, acquired Brookes Transport, which extended our coverage to the South West of Western Australia.

In January 2010 K&S acquired the business of Pacific Transport which was focussed on the Perth to Broome and Derby regions of Western Australia.

In July 2010 K&S acquired the business of Perth-based Regal Transport Group, being focussed on the Perth to Pilbara region, with depots in Port Hedland, Newman and Karratha.

In January 2011 K&S opened its new depot in Kewdale (WA) and further aligned itself to the exploration
and mining industries.