What it does: Warehousing, Transport and Air & Ocean freight
Team member stats: Around 11,000
The good bits: Culture & atmosphere
The not so good bits: Long hours

The Mainfreight story
Mainfreight was founded in 1978 by Bruce Plested with NZ$7,200 of capital and an old truck. In 1982 New Zealand deregulated its freight and transport markets allowing Mainfreight to grow.

Unlike its competitors, Mainfreight operated 24/7 and soon overtook large stakeholders due to a well-earned reputation.

In 1984, Mainfreight launched Mainfreight Air & Ocean, an international sea and airfreight business. In 1989 Mainfreight opened a depot in Sydney and unveiled Mainfreight Australia. Offices in Melbourne and Brisbane were subsequently opened. Mainfreight, which remains headquartered in Auckland, now boasts 337 branches in 27 countries across the globe. The company listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange in 1996. In 2024 it had revenues of NZD $4.72 billion (AUD $4.26 billion).

The culture
Mainfreight is built on a 100-year vision. What this means is that all decisions made today are with the intention that the company will still be around in a hundred years’ time. This view shapes their approach to recruitment and training of team members, customer and supplier relationships, growth strategies and legal and tax structures.

“Special People, Special Company” embodies Mainfreight and its unique culture. Mainfreight promotes people from within, and encourages innovative, non-hierarchical and decisive outlooks. The team regard each other as a family and share mealtimes. Every branch reports weekly results that are available for all team members to see. Individual responsibility and accountability for quality are reinforced. Key performance indicators are important to their customers and these factors are linked to team members’ bonuses. All of the branches have quality boards and are internally audited every six months.

While it’s no longer a small business, Mainfreight has worked hard to maintain a family business atmosphere. It promotes from within and it encourages team members to have innovative, non-hierarchical and decisive outlooks and regard each other as a family.

Social contribution
Mainfreight operates in hundreds of communities around the world and actively seeks out ways to immerse themselves in and support the communities they are a part of.

Mainfreight’s Books in Homes program provides books to families and children living in remote and low socioeconomic circumstances across Australia and throughout the world.

Currently they support over 140 schools. This means over 15,000 children every year are getting new books to read thanks to Mainfreight’s support.

The company seeks to minimise its environmental impact. It operates one of the largest private solar-energy installations in New Zealand. It also embraces environmentally friendly new technologies, efficiencies and energy sources wherever possible.

Star Rating: 4.3 out of 5

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