Diversified Western Australian T&L concern scoops up national floor-coverings transport firm
CTI Logistics has gained a national footprint with the $27 million purchase of GMK Logistics.
The move involves the conditional purchase over several months of shares in Logico Operations Group, which owned GM Kane and Sons, which operates as GMK.
“With warehouses in Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, GMK provides CTI with a national footprint from which to grow its transport and logistics businesses,” joint managing director and company secretary David Mellor says.
“In time, our objective will be to establish (alongside GMK) a CTI branded presence in each state in the transport and logistics disciplines we have expertise in, namely, couriers, parcel distribution, taxi trucks, contract fleet management and warehousing.
“This will be achieved by organic growth and acquisitions.”
Logico CEO Derek Lightfoot, formerly a CEO of StarTrack when it was under joint ownership by Qantas and Australia Post, will run GMK from its Sydney headquarters.
A subtle hint that CTI was ready to spread its wings may have been flagged in February when it appointed a South Australian manager to oversee a client’s large distribution project due to start mid-year.
“Aside from the distribution project, we will be exploring organic growth opportunities in Adelaide as well as targeting potential acquisitions to increase our South Australian footprint,” CTI said at the time.
“This move affords our eastern states-based clients the ability to have one supplier for WA and SA transport and warehousing requirements.”
The GMK move comes hard on the heels of the sale for an undisclosed sum of CTI’s PVC injection moulded plumbing fittings business, Ausplastics , to New Zealand-based plastics company Aqua Fit.
The business will continue to operate from the CTI owned Malaga facility.
The sale of Ausplastics is in line with CTI’s plan to focus on its core business of transport, logistics and security.