Our origins
Today, TNT is an international group of companies, operating in 200 countries around the world. In 1996, TNT was acquired by the Dutch company KPN (formerly PTT Post). But TNT actually started from very humble beginnings, back in the 1940s, when Ken Thomas set up his own transport business in Australia with just a single truck.
Ken Thomas started his business in 1946, but it wasn’t until 1958 that it became known as Thomas Nationwide Transport, or TNT for short. Business boomed in the 1950s as Ken’s company began offering road and rail freight services across the whole of Australia, including for the first time, new overnight services. And by 1961, TNT had become so successful, it became a public company, and was listed on the Australian stock exchange.
International expansion
TNT continued to grow throughout the 1960s, and following the company’s success at home, in Australia and New Zealand, international expansion was the next natural step.
The business went global in the 1970s and 80s, and TNT gained an instant foothold in new markets by buying up transportation companies in Europe, North America and Brazil.
By the 80s, the company’s focus, in terms of growth, was very much on Europe. Major companies were acquired in the overnight and express delivery industry, and TNT was the first transport company to buy its own aircraft, creating the first pan-European overnight service using a dedicated fleet.
By the 90s, the TNT group had 70,000 employees. But its bid to become a worldwide player in transportation, through rapid acquisition, had led it to diversify very quickly – and it needed to find new investment.
The Dutch connection
Around this time, the Dutch postal company, PTT Post, was looking to expand its business overseas. They’d had a monopoly on the postal system in the Netherlands that had lasted for almost 200 years. But with the arrival of modern communications, such as the fax and the internet, PTT had to move with the times, to protect its traditional mail business. And in 1989, Dutch mail became a private company called KPN, and was given more flexibility.In 1992, KPN took its first steps into the international express business, and four years later, acquired the TNT group, heralding a new era for the global post and express industry.