Hawke’s Bay businesses that move products throughout New Zealand and offshore are benefitting from the extensive network of logistics and warehousing offered by fast growing business, Booth’s Logistics.
Booth’s was founded in Manawatu in the 1980’s when Graham Booth faced similar challenges common to most growers and producers – how to move product from the farm gate to market. In his case it was potatoes grown on the family farm. From those humble beginnings the company grew steadily in the 90s and early 2000s before son’s Trevor and Craig took over the reins and started to create a nationwide network. Driven by customer demand for more nationwide support, a series of strategic acquisitions and new developments have enabled Palmerston North based Booth’s Logistics to broaden its service offering, increase its capacity and grow its network.
over 130,000m2 of warehousing across 20 locations, with a branches and depots in all regions in the North and South Island. Booth’s expansion has been based on acquiring well established local operators such as Couplands Transport in Te Awamutu, Taupo based Great Lake Transport, The Produce Connection in Whangarei and Wellington based LG Anderson Transport and Anderson and Flowers, as well as South Island based Summerland Express Freight.
In 2019 it bought well-known local business Tomoana Warehousing in Ellwood Road, which is the new base for the Booth’s Hawke’s Bay offering which includes 12,000m2 of modern food grade warehousing which meets all the regulatory requirements including MPI biosecurity transitional facilities, hazardous goods handling and customs services. Former owner of Great Lakes Transport, based in Rotorua and Taupo, Blair Workman is Booth’s General Manager of Warehousing, based in Hastings but spends time most weeks in Tauranga, Wellington and Auckland.
Booth’s has over 130,000m2 of warehousing across its network Blair, who’s children were already at Hawke’s Bay schools, relocated the family to the Bay and has quickly built strong relationships with the many leaders in the primary sector and beyond.
“Here in the Bay, we support a diverse range of industries and sectors, though the primary industry including meat, pet food, fruit and vegetables, and wine are our predominant customer base for exports, along with some manufactured goods. The Hastings logistics hub is based in the heart of the food processing area of Tomoana and Whakatu and next to the newly established local and central government funded Food Innovation Hub called Foodeast.
Booth’s has a fleet of about forty truck and trailer units in the Bay, mostly container units but there is also a range of curtainsider and flat decks to meet clients’ diverse freight and transport needs. It also specialises in skeletal and swinglift container transport. While many of Booth’s trucks service the local area including Napier Port for both exports and imports, they also service many other ports like Port of Tauranga. “We provide customers with access to a broader network geographically and a wider range of service offerings across road transport, logistics, warehousing, container handling and export assistance. Booth’s Hastings based warehousing and freight/transport operation plays an integral role in connecting the East Coast of the North Island down to Manawatu, to the rest of the country and beyond. “The RMP warehousing is utilised for export quality goods that require paddock to plate traceability such as dairy products and other processed or manufactured animal products,” says Blair.
This ensures that outbound products from the likes of Rockit, T&G and Ziwi using Booth’s 3PL services get to their destination efficiently and in excellent condition. Blair says since Hawke’s Bay was hit by Cyclone Gabrielle, there is a big emphasis on supporting the transportation of valuable products for local businesses, all of which contributed to strengthening the local economy.
“Getting our goods to and from local and international markets is imperative to our local economy and therefore our people are passionate and hugely invested in making this happen, living up to our motto of ‘Can Do. Will Do.’ Booth’s is proud to employ about 90 staff locally in roles such as drivers, operators, mechanics, and warehouse staff, along with support staff including planners, health and safety professionals and administrators.
“We have a real depth of service offering when you take into account our people and equipment, and that sets us apart as warehouse and transport operators.”
