News and Views From Primeport Timaru

PrimePort Timaru Launches New Marketing
Initiative

Alistair Betts,
Chairman of PrimePort Timaru

PrimePort Timaru is the new corporate brand of the company formerly known as Port of Timaru. This branding initiative reflects the full range of services provided for customers. It links the Port with shipping, road and rail transport, storage and other operators in the region to provide a complete logistical package. Central to this re-branding exercise has been the development of a modern, stylish logo design, depicting shipping containers grouped around a central axis. In launching the new PrimePort brand to the Company's shareholders at the recent Annual General Meeting, Chairman Alistair Betts explained that the re-branding of the Port best illustrates our marketing and geographic positioning while bringing together a number of other development programmes currently underway at the Port.

2001 - 2002 Results Highlights

PrimePort Timaru achieved a 10% increase in total cargo volume to 30th June 2002.
Growth was achieved across all segments of the business.
Container volumes increased by 28%.
Pre-tax profit of $982,000.
Operational profit increased by 31% on previous year.
Port shipping and cargo operations achieved an increase in total revenue to $9.2million, up from $8.4million in the previous year.
A dividend of 4.25 cents per share paid to shareholders.
$23 million development programme underway.
Maersk Sealand introduced Oceania Americas service in September 2001.
Maersk Sealand introduce weekly
Asian/European call to Timaru in September 2002.
Break-bulk Asian trade on Tasman Orient Line grows with improving economy.

Major Port Development on Track

Jeremy Boys,
Chief Executive

PrimePort Timaru Chief Executive Jeremy Boys, confirms that the Port’s major $23 million development programme is running according to plan, stating that once completed early next year, PrimePort Timaru will have a standard of facilities capable of meeting or exceeding the operational capacity of all other regional ports in New Zealand. “This will enable us to continue to provide a superior level of customer service and to continue to deliver on the commitment of our mission statement of ‘Customers First’ ” he said.

PrimePort stevedores hard at work
slinging another load of steel
from the hold of a Tasman Orient
breakbulk vessel.

Mr Boys paid tribute to the efforts of all Port staff throughout the year, particularly during a period of rapid expansion and change. “It has been through the willingness and commitment of all staff that we continue to achieve a high level of customer service and satisfaction. Understandably in these times of change and expansion, we all come under pressure. Whilst our record is still not 100% perfect, I believe that our staff have in the last year enhanced our reputation as the, ‘Can Do’ Port.”

Welcome to PrimePort Exchange

This is the first issue of PrimePort Exchange, our new magazine to keep you informed of the services, activities and developments occurring at PrimePort Timaru. Each edition will cover stories relating to the full range of services we are able to offer at PrimePort Timaru including customer profiles, staff profiles and special events as they happen.

Contact Bruce McDougall
General Manager, Marketing

Phone +64 3 684 4199
Email brucem@primeport.co.nz

STOP PRESS! - PrimePort Timaru Achieves Record Crane Rate

As we were going to print last week the PrimePort stevedoring team achieved a record rate of 47 gross container movements per hour with the Port’s mobile harbour cranes. Maersk Sealand acknowledged that this is possibly the highest rate ever achieved using mobile cranes working Maersk vessels, in New Zealand. “Well done guys! What records are you going to set when the new cranes arrive in December?”

Tasman Orient Connects Timaru with Asia

Tasman Orient: New Zealand's specialist,
multi-purpose shipping link with Asia

Tasman Orient Line provides Timaru and the Central South Island with a specialist break-bulk and container service into the rapidly developing markets of Asia via direct and link connections out of PrimePort Timaru.

Tasman Orient operates direct regular liner shipping links between Timaru and North Asian destinations in Japan, Korea and northern China - plus connections with the East and South East Asia region of Taiwan, Philippines, Hong Kong, Southern China, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

Multi-Purpose Service

The Tasman Navigator loading reefer containers
on a recent visit to PrimePort Timaru.

The service is a true multi-purpose operation and caters for containerised and break-bulk cargoes. In addition to export cargoes from the agricultural and forestry sectors, imported container and break-bulk cargoes for the manufacturing and consumer industries in the region are serviced as well.

Timaru provides excellent handling facilities for steel, manufacturing equipment, machinery and a wide range of goods that can't be containerised.

Tasman Orient Line Chief Executive Mr Ulrich Stelling commented “that Timaru, with its ideal location within a dynamic fast-growing region, continues to serve as the gateway for the wider Central South Island import and export communities.

“We welcome and congratulate the Port on its expansion and the improvement programme of its facilities and we wish the Port well in its new identity as PrimePort Timaru.

“Tasman Orient is very happy with the growing support we have received over the years from the trading community in the region and at PrimePort Timaru.

“Earlier this year Tasman Orient completed improvements to its own service structure which” says, Mr Stelling, “has reinforced the company's reputation as ‘New Zealand's specialist shipping link with Asia’.”

Direct Call to Shanghai

Part of the interesting mix of break-bulk
import cargoes discharged at PrimePort
Timaru by Tasman Orient Line.

On the North Asia Service which calls at Timaru, the prime innovation was the introduction of direct regular calls at Shanghai. Timaru shippers are now being offered a direct Timaru-to-Shanghai connection every 15 days - this is the only direct liner shipping link for both break-bulk and container cargoes.

Other ports of call on the North Asian route include Yokohama, Osaka and Nagoya in Japan and Busan in South Korea.

“Tasman Orient Line and its predecessors have been calling at Timaru for more than 20 years. Our company looks forward to a further two decades as an integral part of the services provided by PrimePort Timaru,” said Mr Stelling.

PrimePort Storage Facilities Continue to Expand

Matching available storage capability with the rapid growth in cargo volumes passing through PrimePort has presented an interesting challenge to the Port community in Timaru.

This challenge has been met by a number of local storage operators recognising the potential for future growth and constructing new facilities to meet these needs. This includes the San Won specialised fish coolstore which is a joint venture facility built by Sanfords and Don Wong fisheries to service the large factory fishing vessels which use Timaru as their South Island base.

A new company, Port Dairy Stores Ltd was established last year to provide specialised dry goods storage to support the large volumes milk powder being produced at the nearby NZMP Clandeboye plant.

Peter Anderson, Managing Director of Hilton Storage Ltd who operate the store commented “we could see the need arising rapidly for additional dry storage on the Port but at the time we had no contracts in place. So we took a bit of a punt 12 months ago when the store was built and it seems to have paid off.”

PrimePort Timaru Storage Facts and Figures

PrimePort Timaru currently offers the largest capacity of cold storage at any Port in New Zealand.
25,000 tonnes of food grade dry storage available.
26,000 tonnes bulk grain storage on the Port.
PrimePort Timaru covers a total of 80 hectares including operational and storage areas.
20 hectares of flat land is available for further development.
With current development there will be 100,000 tonnes of cold storage available at PrimePort Timaru by Christmas 2002.

Port Storage built in the past 12 months includes:

San Won fishing coolstore
Talleys Fisheries coolstore
Coolpak blast freezing coolstore
Polarcold butter coolstore
Port Dairy Stores dry goods store

Robotic Technology to be Used in New Coldstore

Neville Moore and Gordon Foster of Polarcold
Stores Ltd checking plans for the installation
of the robotic rack stacking system in
Polarcold's new butter store.

PrimePort Timaru's massive coolstore capacity continues to grow with expansions by Timaru's two largest operators, Coolpak and Polarcold stores. CoolPak are building a new blast freezing facility while across the road Polarcold Stores Ltd are constructing a new $7.5 million 8500 tonne butter store.

Polarcold Timaru Branch Manager Neville Moore explained the new store will be a specialised facility to accommodate product coming from the recently commissioned butter plant at NZMP Clandeboye. “It will incorporate the latest technology in coolstore management and operation, including the instalation of a robotic rack stacking system.

“This will enable us toincrease the space utilisation in store plus speedup the stacking and handling operations,” said Mr Moore.

South Beach Primed for Development

PrimePort Timaru's forestry operation
is an example of the extensive land
areas available.

Without doubt a ‘jewel in the crown’ at PrimePort Timaru is the availability of a further 20 hectares of flat land in the Port area suitable for further development of processing, storage and handling facilities to support the growth of trade travelling across the Timaru wharves.

The Pelican dredge working in the
PrimePort channel which is now down
to a depth of 11 metres.

“The Port owned land at South beach provides us with a number of commercial opportunities,” explained Chief Executive Jeremy Boys. “The South Beach Primed for Development area for development is directly adjacent to the Main Trunk rail line and provides easy access to State Highway One and links well into our existing Port storage areas. We have adopted very much an open door policy on land development at the Port and are interested in finding solutions which best meet the needs of our customers.” said Mr Boys.

Port Container Facilities Upgraded

PrimePort Timaru has invested over $23 million in capital expenditure in a major development programme at the Port in the last 12months. This is to meet the needs of the increased economic activity occuring in the South Island, being driven by a buoyant primary industry export sector.

Much of the new developmentwork is in support of the increasing volumes of trade in containerised cargo which grew by 28% in the 2001/2002 financial year but is expected to almost double this year.

On the move ... the break-bulk transit shed is relocated to a new site on the North Mole.

Job done ... ready for the next loadof break-bulk cargo.

Reefer power points have been increased from 400 to 700 on the North Mole.

Three new six-high stackers have joined the forklift fleet to handle the empty container flow at PrimePort Timaru.

Trainee Ships Planner Peter Clemens schedules each container movement onto the ship at the new PrimePort Timaru Planning Office.

PrimePort has purchased three new heavy lift forklifts to handle the fully laden containers.

Specialised Container Services manage the empty container depot providing a complete cleaning and repair service.

PrimePort Timaru's new $6 million cranes at the Liebherr factory in Austria. The two new cranes arrive in December 2002.

Development Summary

2 New Liebherr 500 cranes.
3 New Omega heavy lift forklifts.
3 New (2 via SCS) Omega high stacker forklifts.
Transit shed relocated.
New Hard-stand areas.
300 additional reefer points to 700 total.
Wharf strengthening and sheet-piling.
New lighting towers.
New Planning Office.
New Gatehouse.

World Class Facilities

PrimePort Timaru will lay claim to offering the premium container service of any regional port in New Zealand with plant and facilities which are world class.

Maersk Sails into Timaru with Weekly Service

The world’s largest shipping line Maersk Sealand has confirmed PrimePort Timaru as its principle South Island port, with a new fixed day weekly call on their Asia/New Zealand service. Originally a fortnightly call in Timaru, Maersk recognised PrimePort Timaru's distinct advantages of central location within the rapidly growing South Island cargo catchment area and the Port’s ability to provide a superior level of customer service as pivotal in enhancing Maersk’s business in the region.

The Nora Maersk exchanging containerised
cargo on the new weekly service to Timaru.

Maersk New Zealand General Manager Mr Fleming Gamst commented that “PrimePort Timaru's close proximity to many of our South Island customers makes it an ideal customers makes it an ideal hubbing point for these cargos and this added to the willingness and ‘Can Do’ approach of PrimePort Timaru makes it an easy place to do business.”

The first of the new weekly Wednesday calls into Timaru was made by the Nora Maersk on 11 September. The Nora loaded export containers of mainly dairy products, meat, fish, vegetables and timber, plus discharged a variety of imported cargo.

The Asia/New Zealand service sails weekly to and from the hub port of Tanjung Pelepas, in Malaysia, which is jointly operated by Maersk Sealand. New Zealand cargo connects at Tanjung Pelepas to a vast global network of Maersk vessels for effective and efficient delivery and pickup anywhere in the world.

Maersk Sealand operates more than 250 container vessels and 800,000 containers to ensure a reliable and comprehensive worldwide coverage. Maersk spans six continents, with 325 offices in more than 100 countries around the world.

The arrival of the Nora Maersk in Timaru
in September signalled the start of a new
weekly service to the Port.

Nora Maersk Honoured in Timaru
The Nora Maersk already has close connections with Timaru. The vessel was launched on her maiden voyage by Mrs Gill Barrett a former resident of Timaru. Gill and husband Eric, who is Managing Director of Sanfords Ltd, were back in Timaru recently for a function to honour the Nora Maersk during her return visit to Timaru in October. Guests were treated to cocktails and a guided tour of the ship and were hosted to a dinner featuring fine seafood including toothfish and scampi fresh from the Sanfords boats.

Oceania Americas Service
As well as the Asia/New Zealand service, Maersk Sealand also operate a direct service to the Americas from PrimePort Timaru. This service commenced in September last year and is evident of Maersk’s commitment to provide a complete world wide service to the South Island’s importers and exporters. PrimePort Timaru is the exclusive South Island cargo aggregation Port for the Americas service. By relaying cargo through the hub ports of Balboa and Manzanillo in Panama and Freeport, the Caribbean, as well as Central and South American destinations, are served with very competitive transit times. Direct port calls also at Philadelphia and Houston open up access to the North American Mid-West, East and Gulf States for refrigerated New Zealand meat and dairy products as well as other vital exports.

PrimePort Canterbury is Christchurch's New Cargo Gateway to the World

The new PrimePort Canterbury sign is
prepared for erecting at the Tranz Rail depot
in Middleton by Bruce McDougall, PrimePort’s
General Manager (Marketing).

The creation of PrimePort Canterbury, an inland container port located at Tranz Rail’s Middleton depot in Christchurch adds an exciting new dimension in shipping options for Canterbury importers and exporters. This innovative approach to efficient cargo transportation and distribution now offers Christchurch businesses an alternative Port option right in the heart of the south city industrial zone.

How does it work?
PrimePort Chief Executive Jeremy Boys commented that Christchurch based businesses can now deliver their containers direct to the PrimePort Canterbury depot in Matipo Street in the same way they have been traditionally delivered to Port. “The containers will be gated into the PrimePort system and along with Tranz Rail and our shipping lines we take care of the rest”, said Mr Boys.

Containers are then railed direct to the PrimePort Timaru wharves on a twice-daily return service for loading onto ship and export to world markets. The same service is available in reverse for import customers who can now collect their import containers from PrimePort Canterbury in Middleton.

Tranz Rail arrive at the North Mole with
another train of containers from PrimePort
Canterbury.

Links to a New Weekly Shipping Service
The development of the PrimePort Canterbury inland Port provides customers with the best combination of the following services:

A fixed-day weekly container shipping service by Maersk Sealand to all parts of the world.
Connection to Tasman Orient Lines break-bulk and containerised Asian services.
An easily accessible container terminal in the heart of the south city industrial area.
A service co-operatively managed by partners whose principle is ‘Customers First’.
Prior to this, Christchurch businesses only had a fortnightly service available to them, whereas now they have a regular weekly fixed-day service to and from PrimePort Canterbury in Tranz Rail’s Middleton depot.

Inland Port Born Out of Co-operation
“The philosophy of an ‘inland port’ is very much based upon innovative co-operation between shipping lines, port and rail,” says Craig Stapleton Tranz Rail General Manager Commercial/Sales.

“In recent years, we have invested in the Middleton terminal to make it our most modern facility. We are now seeing practical returns for this investment with Middleton becoming an integral hub for South Island import and export traffic.

“Looking forward, we see this style of operation, with freight aggregated away from busy port areas and then railed on time to meet specific port calls as a way of reducing congestion both at ports and on local and national roads while still meeting the needs of exporters, importers and the shipping lines,” commented Mr Stapleton.

Public Supportive of Port Open Day

Alistair Betts, Captain Stanislaw Freicher
and Jeremy Boys meet on the bridge of the
Tasman Discoverer prior to her departure
during the Port’s Open Day.

PrimePort Timaru recently opened its doors to the public to give the local community an opportunity to view the Port in as close to a typical working environment as possible.

The Open Day activities were based on the North Mole Container Terminal - normally closed to public access due to security and safety issues associated with high volumes of heavy machinery working.

Visitors were able to view container handling forklifts working plus a variety of static displays of plant and equipment.

Crane tours were a popular attraction with groups of four escorted up the internal tower of the Port's Liebherr 320 mobile crane to the operator's cabin for a view of the harbour. Also popular was a ride around the harbour on PrimePort Timaru's tug Te Maru and for those who were a little more adventurous they could enter the PrimePort Timaru business house boat race. This involved teams of four paddling their way across the harbour in rubber inflatable dinghies.

Another event which provided plenty of laughs was Port Golf, which involved participants testing their pitching skills by attempting to hit a golf ball from the edge of the wharf into a small dinghy moored 70 metres away in the harbour.

Tug rides on the Te Maru proved popular
with the hardy souls who braved the
elements at our Open Day in September.

Tasman Discoverer makes grand departure
The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the lunchtime departure of the Tasman Discoverer vessel, which had been in Port during the weekend discharging and loading break-bulk and containerised cargoes on its fortnightly North Asian service.

The public were also treated to live entertainment by local band ‘Double Talk’ plus various competitions, prizes and a food court were operating.

Despite the sometimes bitterly cold and wet weather, the day was billed as a success according to General Manager of Marketing, Bruce McDougall. “The public of Timaru are indirectly stakeholders in the Port and our objective was to allow them to view the recent developments that have taken place.

“Public interest in the Open Day was high leading up to the weekend and those who braved the elements did not let the wet weather dampen their enthusiasm,” said Mr McDougall.

Staff Profiles: Meet the PrimePort Timaru Gatehouse Team

From left to right: Alistair Gray of Temuka
Transport checks in another container at the
North Mole Gatehouse with Joanne Gillespie,
Margaret Eggleton and Lisa Hunt.

Team leader is Container Co-Ordinator Margaret Eggleton. Margaret has been busy at the Port for eight years, prior to which she jointly managed a road transport business. It is these management skills which are put to the test daily at the Gatehouse as Margaret keeps track of the hundreds of container movements in and out of the North Mole container terminal each day.

The Gatehouse has recently increased its hours of operation to cope with the increased flow of container traffic, with the morning shift beginning at 6.30am until 2.30pm and the afternoon shift running through until 10.00pm.

Sharing the Gatehouse shifts with Margaret on a week-about basis is Joanne Gillespie. Joanne has a total of 17 years service working at the Port. She says she “enjoys the challenge of working in a busy environment and the Port is such an exciting place to work with all the progress and development which is occurring at the moment.”

A recent recruit to the Gatehouse team is Lisa Hunt who comes to PrimePort Timaru from a background in the marine industry having previously worked in stevedoring and shipping companies. Lisa fills a new position which has been created to support the extended hours of operation at the Gatehouse. Her role is to ensure the smooth flow of all documentation and information on container movements from the road and rail transporters through to the planning and loading of the ships and to the empty container depot operation.