ContainerCo appoints an independent director

ContainerCo appoints an independent director & new senior finance manager

ContainerCo (NZL) Limited (ContainerCo), the container depot storage and repair operator, today announced that it has made two key appointments: Paul Ridley-Smith joins the Board as an Independent Director and George Paterson has been appointed General Manager, Strategy & Finance.

ContainerCo was established by Ken Harris, the former CEO of Centreport, when he led a management buy-out from P&O Ports in 2006. Ken is ContainerCo’s Managing Director and 50% shareholder who is keen to see the business grow further in a key infrastructure sector.

Ken said, “Paul is a professional company director with a deep understanding of infrastructure companies and has broad industry connections and strong governance experience to assist us to achieve our strategic ambitions.

“George Paterson has a track record across a range of private and public companies. At ContainerCo, he will oversee the execution of the company’s forward development path.”

Paul Ridley-Smith is currently the Chairman of Trustpower Limited and is an independent director of Arvida Limited, both NZX listed companies. He is a senior executive at Morrison & Co. and Infratil involved in governance and asset management. Prior to Morrison & Co., Paul was General Counsel at Contact Energy where he led the legal, regulatory and government relations functions. Paul’s previous directorships include Wellington International Airport Limited, Liquigas Limited, iSite Media Limited and Wallace Corporation Limited. Paul was also a member of the NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal. He has an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington and an MBA from Columbia University.

ContainerCo’s Board now comprises four directors including two independent non-executive directors, Board Chairman Stuart Ferguson and Paul Ridley-Smith. The two other Directors are the company’s Managing Director Ken Harris and Yingjie He, Vice President of COSCO Shipping Lines Oceania.

George Paterson has significant management, financial and capital markets experience. He was previously the CFO of Southern Capital during its move to the main board of the NZX and was joint Chief Executive of Hirequip during its competitive sales process cumulating in the sale to private equity interests in 2006. Earlier in his career, George was CFO to Cedenco’s Australian operations and a director of Port Gisborne. More recently he managed the sale of Masterpet to EBOS Group and was GM/CFO of Ecopoint, a start-up company in the LED lighting industry. He is currently an independent director of TeamTalk. George has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Canterbury and is a Chartered Accountant.

These appointments follow an earlier announcement that Cameron Partners has been engaged to provide advice on the company’s strategic direction and capital requirements.

ContainerCo resulted from a merger of container depot businesses in 2013 to become New Zealand’s largest independent container depot storage business offering a range of services to support shipping companies and shippers. It also offers container hire and sales services. The company’s depot operations are located in Tauranga, Auckland, Napier and Christchurch, near New Zealand’s four largest container ports.

ContainerCo increased revenue in FY2016 to $43m, up from $34m in 2014 following the merger and on the back of strong industry and trade dynamics. Its customers include some of the world’s largest shipping lines.

The sector is expected to generate further demand for services, with container volumes experiencing compound annual growth of 4.3% over the last 5 years. This growth is projected to accelerate due to the increasing containerisation of New Zealand’s bulk cargo. Since 2012, 40 foot and 20 foot container volumes entering and leaving New Zealand have grown by 15% and 7%, respectively. The increase in container volumes is putting pressure on port facilities, creating demand for standalone container storage and repair depots.

“ContainerCo’s container depot business is well-positioned to take advantage of these favourable dynamics, and we believe there are also opportunities to expand our complementary hire and sales business given the businesses core expertise,” Ken Harris said.

“Realising the company’s inherent potential as a long term infrastructure services business will require additional investment and we have sought Cameron Partners advice in order to assist the company to achieve its strategic ambitions.”

ENDS

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