Ports of Auckland and CHH Lodestar today announced an agreement to establish new facilities to handle and pack Lodestar’s Auckland based forest products cargo. Lodestar has appointed Netlogix as their materials handling specialist to operate the facilities which will be located at Ports of Auckland’s Wiri Intermodal Freight Hub and Waitematā sea port.
This is the first step in a new partnership between New Zealand’s largest container port and one of New Zealand’s largest exporters which aims to reduce supply chain costs and improve export competitiveness.
Tony Gibson, Ports of Auckland CEO said “It is a core element of our strategy to develop an open, collaborative supply chain network across New Zealand. This network will exploit the natural flow of freight and containers around the country to deliver a cheaper, more efficient service to exporters and importers.” Ports of Auckland has recently entered joint ventures to open a new inland port in Longburn, Palmerston North and to form Nexus Logistics Limited, an independent container logistics and distribution services provider.
Lodestar’s general manager, Murray Horne said “This arrangement enables us to further deliver on our strategy of maximising efficiencies across our logistics networks. We see significant value in a collaborative process that seeks to optimise efficiencies from the manufacturer through to the end customer, and we look forward to working with stakeholders to deliver on this vision.”
Netlogix CEO, Chin Abeywickrama welcomed the opportunity. “Lodestar’s decision to establish its North Island import, export and domestic freight hub at Ports of Auckland’s Wiri site creates an opportunity for stakeholders to improve their logistics offering through true collaboration and by tapping into benefits they otherwise would not have been able to achieve. Netlogix is looking forward to helping stakeholders maximise the opportunity this presents.”
The parties will continue to evaluate future opportunities and look forward to announcing further initiatives in due course.
ENDS
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