Nearly four years ago when discussions about the future ownership structure of D.T. Kings Transport were in full swing – and the idea of splitting the company among the shareholders was first floated – it was clear the log transport division was already operating somewhat as its own entity.

The sole focus on carting logs was a contrast to the wide variety of livestock, sowing, spreading and rural cartage work being done by the rest of a transport operation that was approaching a fleet size of 200 trucks.

So, creating a new log truck operation from the DTK fleet was a relatively straightforward process, while splitting the fleet for the two other new entities – Kings Rural Transport and Riverton Rural Transport – was a little more involved.

Last month New Zealand Truck & Driver looked at the Kings Rural Transport and Riverton Rural Transport operations. The third new transport company created from the DTK separation is Kings Log Transport, owned by Invercargill’s Gordon Harding and Grant Loader.