42 | APL Direct TRANSPORT A seamless in-house distribution solution APL Direct is split into two fleets, Aluminium and Glass distribution. T T Sue Russell In 2003, to support the array of manufacturing ventures within the Profile Group, APL Direct was established. In creating the transporting business, it provided Profile Group with a seamless in-house distribution solution. “This gave Profile Group a vertical supply chain guaranteeing total control over our production distribution from door to door,” says Jake Lambert, APL Direct’s General Manager. He’s been in the role for 6 years, a time of growth and consolidation of the businesses service offering, growing the company from about 35 product distribution staff to now around 100. APL Direct works out of its Waikato bases at Hautapu, near Cambridge and Te Rapa Hamilton. It also has a satellite depot in Palmerston North and another facility in Christchurch. A significant boost in growth for the Profile Group came with the opening of AGP’s massive glass manufacturing plant at Hautapu. AGP is one of several companies within the Profile Group network. Today, the fleet is well in excess of 50 units, with half that number based out of the Hautapu plant, 40% in Te Rapa and the balance in Christchurch. APL Direct is split into two fleets, Aluminium and Glass distribution. Jake says glass is a very bespoke and challenging product to transport. “We entered the glass distribution game without any experience and just figured out issues as we encountered them. With the aluminium side, we have a wider customer base we supply sheet metal and aluminium profiles to.” With the building sector having undergone considerable development in the last five years, Jake says APL Direct supplies New Zealand with a large proportion of product for new builds. In terms of volumes transported in any given year, APL Direct is dictated by decisions made within the various Profile Group entities. “We play a very critical role, being the face of products for the Group to its customers, so quality of service is uppermost in our minds at all times.” One thing Jake says he’s particularly proud of is that APL Direct has gone down the path over the last 5 – 7 years of emphasising internal promotion for its staff. “Bringing in ‘green’ staff and growing them in the business has been very satisfying for us and I believe is a key strength of ours.” This means that young men and women who want to work in the company and often come in without any licenses have been afforded the training and time to become qualified transport and distribution operators. He stresses too that being a team player and fitting well into APL Direct’s culture are critically important when considering taking on new team members. Asked how business has been most recently, Jake says APL Direct is in a stable position, enabled by the fact that it doesn’t operate in the open market and the companies within Profile Group are commercially successful. “Now we have more scale we can keep our units busy. We’re able to have a picture of what our sister companies growth curve is likely to be and prepare ourselves for these changes.” APL Direct uses Scania trucks which comes with very high specifications. Driver comfort is Roadmaster wishes to thank, APL for your on going support.
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