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Mainfreight was founded on 6 March 1978 by Bruce Plested who started the company with just $7,200 and a 1969 Bedford truck. In 1979, Bruce Plested partnered with Neil Graham, with Graham based in Christchurch and Plested in Auckland.When the company was founded it entered a highly regulated transport market. A licence from New Zealand Railways Corporation was needed to carry freight over 150 km. When deregulation of land transport occurred in October 1982, Mainfreight quickly took advantage of the opportunities presented and won a large share of the freight market. Whilst describing the foundation of Mainfreight in 2000, Plested said to the New Zealand Herald, "We moved all our freight by sea between Auckland, and Christchurch and Dunedin, and we worked weekend shifts to make sure we loaded and unloaded the ship using the whole of the seven days - we found that was faster and more reliable than our big competitors."
