Profreight

What Profreight does

Profreight Limited is a privately held, 100% New Zealand-owned freight forwarding and third-party logistics company headquartered at Auckland International Airport. Founded in 1992 by Gary Sayles and currently owned by Managing Director Andrew McMillan (who took over in 2016), the company operates from a purpose-built ~9,500 sqm facility at Pavilion Drive, Airport Oaks, that is accredited as both an NZ Customs Bonded Store and a MAF Approved Transitional Facility. With 11–50 employees and a single Auckland site, Profreight serves importers and exporters, other freight forwarders requiring overflow 3PL capacity, and domestic companies needing warehousing and national distribution.

The company's service portfolio spans 3PL warehousing and distribution, global air and sea freight forwarding, NVOCC and tanktainer services, customs brokerage, bonded storage, project cargo handling, and marine insurance (underwritten by Zurich Financial Services Group). Its technology stack centers on a Warehouse Management System integrated with Radio Frequency Scanning for inventory accuracy, plus a proprietary LIVE track-and-trace platform called eColoSys for cargo visibility. Revenue is generated primarily through transaction fees on freight movements and managed-services contracts for warehousing, with pricing quote-based and tailored to cargo type, volume, and route.

Go-to-market is sales-led and direct, relying on a toll-free phone line (0800 PROFR8), website enquiry forms, and community/sports sponsorships including motorsport and netball teams. Profreight has been a full member of the Worldwide Alliance (WWA) since 1996 and of the Air Cargo Group, and in June 2013 entered a joint venture with Shipco Transport under which international transactions are conducted in Shipco Transport Limited's name while Profreight continues to provide warehouse and CFS operations. The customer base spans enterprise accounts across pet food manufacturing (Royal Canin Australia), construction/glass (4th Dimensional Facade Solutions), manufacturing (Pacific Sheet & Coil), and retail (NS/Hobbs).

Name

Profreight

Legal name

Profreight Limited

Website

https://www.profreight.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Profreight Limited is a privately held New Zealand freight forwarder and 3PL provider operating a purpose-built, customs-bonded warehouse near Auckland Airport, serving importers, exporters, and other forwarders with global air/sea freight, customs brokerage, warehousing, and distribution services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Freight Forwarding and Logistics Services

NAICS

Deep Sea Freight Transportation (483111), Marine Cargo Handling (48832)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412)

akta.pro primary industry

NVOCC Operations & Ocean Consolidation (TLACABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ocean Export Forwarding (Booking/VGM/SI/BL) (TLACABAF), Ocean Import Forwarding (Destination Handling/DO/ISF) (TLACABAE), Project & OOG/Breakbulk Ocean Forwarding (Out-of-Gauge, RoRo) (TLACABAH)

Keywords

• Freight forwarding services
• Third-party logistics
• Customs brokerage
• Bonded warehousing
• Air and sea freight

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Global Freight Forwarding: Import and export airfreight and seafreight services throughout the world, including NVOCC services and tanktainer services.
2. 3PL Warehousing and Distribution: Third-party logistics services including short and long term storage, domestic warehousing and national distribution. Manages overflow storage for overseas and local companies.
3. Marine Insurance: Marine insurance cover underwritten by Zurich Financial Services Group. Provides single certificates for one-off movements or yearly premiums to cover internationally moved goods.
4. Customs Clearance and Brokerage: Customs clearance services through agents operating from within the facility. Also provides bonded storage services.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Profreight provides global import and export airfreight and seafreight forwarding, third-party logistics (3PL) warehousing and national distribution, customs clearance and brokerage, bonded storage, tanktainer and NVOCC services, and marine insurance cover. The company delivers full supply chain logistics solutions from a single 10,000 sqm purpose-built facility near Auckland International Airport.

Product overview

Profreight is a New Zealand-based logistics company offering a comprehensive suite of freight forwarding and third-party logistics services. The core offering consists of 3PL Warehousing & Distribution Services combined with Global Shipping and Airfreight Services, supported by specialized add-on modules including NVOCC Services, Tanktainer Services, Marine Insurance Cover, Customs Clearance, Bonded Storage, MAF Transitional Facility Services, and Project Cargo Handling. The company also provides an internal tracking system called eColoSys (ColoSys Gateway) for inventory and shipment monitoring. All services are delivered from a purpose-built 10,000sqm facility near Auckland International Airport.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Stock take discrepancies insignificant and records accurate
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Shipco TransportcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2013J.V. agreement establishing Shipco Transport Limited in New Zealand. Effective 1st June 2013, all international transactions are completed in the name of Shipco Transport. Profreight continues to provide warehouse/CFS operations to the new entity while maintaining all staff and existing agency relationships.
• Worldwide Alliance (WWA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfreight became a full member of the WWA (Worldwide Alliance) in 1996. Membership ensures ability to expand services on a global platform while maintaining local view and providing solution-based services.
• Air Cargo GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of Air Cargo Group which ensures global service expansion capabilities.
• Zurich Financial Services GroupminorOthersInsurance coverage underwritten by Zurich Financial Services Group. Provides marine insurance cover for single movements or yearly premiums for international cargo.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mainfreight: Largest NZ-headquartered freight forwarding and 3PL operator with global network. Directly competes with Profreight in NZ domestic distribution, international forwarding, and warehousing, but at materially larger scale and with broader geographic reach.
• Cardinal Logistics: NZ-based freight forwarding and logistics company offering international and domestic transport solutions. Directly comparable mid-market NZ forwarder competing for similar importer/exporter customers.
• Move Logistics: NZ-owned freight, warehousing, and distribution operator with comparable 3PL and forwarding services. A similar-sized private NZ competitor chasing enterprise freight and warehousing customers.

Broad incumbents

• Toll Group: Australia/NZ-headquartered global logistics provider (owned by Japan Post) with significant freight forwarding and 3PL operations in NZ. Overlaps with Profreight on air/sea forwarding, customs, and warehousing but competes as a much larger incumbent.
• Kuehne+Nagel: One of the world's largest freight forwarders with an NZ presence. Competes for enterprise forwarding, NVOCC, and customs brokerage business in NZ while offering global IT platforms and capacity that a sub-50-employee operator cannot match.
• DHL Global Forwarding: Global freight forwarding arm of Deutsche Post DHL with airfreight, seafreight, customs, and supply chain services in NZ. Directly comparable on NVOCC, project cargo, and customs brokerage, but at vastly larger scale and brand recognition.
• DSV: Global transport and logistics company (post-DB Schenker acquisition) with significant ANZ presence. Competes with Profreight across air/sea forwarding, road, and contract logistics, often winning enterprise accounts on global coverage and integrated IT.
• CEVA Logistics: Global 3PL and freight forwarding provider (CMA CGM subsidiary) with contract logistics, airfreight, seafreight, and customs services. Competes with Profreight on warehousing/distribution and forwarding at much larger scale.

Regional players

• Mondial Freight Services: ANZ-focused freight forwarding and logistics provider with NZ operations. Comparable mid-market forwarder offering air/sea freight, customs, and supply chain solutions across Australasia.

Others

• Pacific International Lines: Singapore-based container shipping line with NVOCC-adjacent and consolidation services into the Pacific. Relevant as a carrier/partner in the same ocean freight ecosystem where Profreight operates NVOCC and CFS services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/profreight-international-limited

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Profreight