Toll has eye on bigger picture

By PAM GRAHAM

Tranz Rail shareholder Toll Holdings has ambitions in New Zealand across the whole transport sector and is quite a different organisation from the retreating RailAmerica.

RailAmerica's Australian chief, Marinus van Onselen, says his company runs railroads. Toll Holdings' managing director Paul Little says his runs supply chains.

The competitors in Australia know each other well.

Toll joined its rail interests with the rail interests of transport company Patrick Corp into a joint venture called Pacific National and outbid RailAmerica in the privatisations of National Rail and FreightCorp last year.

"That makes them the dominant rail operator in Australia and we are at the moment their primary competitor," said van Onselen.

"They are a tough competitor. In our defence I would say we have 17 years of operating rail in what I would call light-density regional rail environments. They're one year old."

Rail is just one component of Toll's view of the world. "Basically if you are controlling a number of links in the supply chain then you are clearly in a position to become far more efficient," said Little.

"Toll's strategy that it has used in Australia is not dissimilar to that which we would like to be able to provide to our New Zealand customers in time."

Little said supply chain management was where logistics was going globally and "I don't believe you can be a supplier of one component of that supply chain and be as successful as someone trying to provide the total solution".

Toll already owns stevedoring operations in New Zealand bought from BHP and the Southern Distribution Centre.

"They are good operators," says Port of Tauranga chief Jon Mayson, who deals with the stevedoring business.

Little has said Patrick Corp was kept informed of his company's move to buy shares in Tranz Rail and Pacific National is the typical vehicle for its rail investments.

Patrick is run by Chris Corrigan, a legendary figure in Australian business who built Bankers Trust Australia up in its heyday.