Open letter from the chief executive officer of ANL, John Lines

It's a significant milestone in any business to be still operating after 50 years but this is particularly so for a shipping company.

ANL has prevailed for 50 years for all the right reasons, from when the Australian Federal Government established ANL in 1956 to cater for the burgeoning demand for shipping space around the Australian coast right through to and beyond the Government's sale of ANL in December 1998.

ANL's core business had moved since the early 1970s from being a coastal carrier to an international container shipping company and with it the need to compete in the dynamic global shipping environment. It was for this reason the Federal Government recognised in the 1990s that for ANL to survive in the cut and thrust of the global trade, it had to become cost competitive and be removed from the cumbersome bureaucracy that went with the territory of being a government-owned entity.

In this regard through the vision of Mr Jacques R. Saade now the ANL chairman, CMA CGM purchased ANL in late 1998. Through Mr. Saade's leadership and guidance ANL has gone from strength to strength to the point that ANL today is lifting close to 500,000 teu per annum and has impressive growth prospects.

For me personally, having spent a considerable period of my working life at ANL, it is a proud moment to witness the 50-year anniversary. In those years the vision and contribution of the many past and present employees has been invaluable because this has made ANL what it is today, a successful vibrant shipping business based in Australia representing the interests of Australian shippers as well as others in global shipping markets.

I wish to extend my sincere thanks to everyone involved with ANL's success, particularly our customers who have been loyal for a long time, our hard-working and dedicated staff both past and present and importantly our chairman, Mr Saade for believing in the future of ANL.

John E. Lines
Chief Executive Officer, ANL

Open letter from the chairman of ANL, Mr Jacques Saade

I take pleasure in extending to everyone at ANL my sincere congratulations on achieving the significant milestone of 50 years. This is essentially due to the commitment of the staff and the support of our customers.

The history of ANL is a proud one, with the line emerging as a consequence of vessels being surplus after the Second World War coupled with the vision of certain individuals and the need to co-ordinate a shipping task for the movement of cargo around the vast coast of Australia.

The shipping industry has changed substantially since those days and today the industry is categorised as being one of dynamic energy and being able to adapt to customers' needs quickly and efficiently.

ANL, as part of the CMA CGM Group, has responded positively to this and under the leadership of John Lines is creating its own history.

Since CMA CGM purchased the company in December 1998, ANL's growth has been exponential. The growth in activity in the almost eight years has represented more than 600% and we shall continue our development.

As chairman of CMA CGM I say we are very pleased of the success of ANL, and we shall maintain ANL as an independent entity for it represents a country and a continent.

I wish all of you and your families every best wish for the future.

Jacques R. Saade
President CMA CGM
Chairman ANL

Company expanding its global reach and volumes

ANL's recent history really began in 1998 when CMA CGM now the world's third largest container line bought the international container shipping business and tradename ANL from the Australian Government.

It was recognised at the time that the ANL brand was a valuable asset being well known and respected in Australia/New Zealand and throughout Asia.

On this basis, far from being swallowed up, ANL has been encouraged to grow and diversify as a standalone and separately managed Australian business headquartered in Melbourne.

The last eight years have been an exciting and busy time at ANL as we rapidly built up container volumes from around 70,000 teu in 1998 to over 500,000 teu forecast for 2006.

This has been accomplished by, first, regaining lost ground through re-entering the Australia/New Zealand and Bass Strait trade; areas we had pulled out of years before.

Second, we entered new markets such as Australia to Papua New Guinea and Noumea.

Third, we have had major capacity upgrades on our traditional trade routes between Australia and Asia, where we now operate three weekly sailings covering north, east and southeast Asia.

Fourth, working with CMA CGM, we have tackled new frontiers and established ANL in the east/west trades, where we now have multiple loops linking Asia to Europe, Mediterranean, Indian Sub Continent, Middle East and North America.

ANL's latest routes are a fortnightly service from Australia/New Zealand to US east coast and North Europe; and a weekly service from US west coast to Australia/New Zealand returning to the US via southern China.

All this has enabled us to grow our substantial Australian business while also becoming an emerging global carrier through our expanding east/west routes.

But it doesn't stop there. We are investing in the future with two 4,250 teu vessels being built in Dalian, China at US$100m.

These vessels due for delivery in 2008 will be the largest ANL has ever operated. These new trade routes means our port coverage just gets bigger and bigger; you name the port or destination; we can get cargo there!

Our proud 50-year history as a blue water carrier is being built upon with some recent landside offerings, such as ANL Logistics and ANL Container Hire and Sales.

Both of these businesses are aimed at giving customers a broader choice of services ranging from a complete logistics solution (including supply chain management) to providing sale or rental containers for project cargoes.

ANL has come a long way in the last eight years but we have a way to go. Nothing stands still and neither do we! Our target is to reach 1,000,000 teu by the end of the decade and we are continually working on expansion opportunities to achieve this.

To our loyal customers, thank you for your ongoing support and we will continue working hard, building a bigger and stronger ANL to meet your shipping and logistics needs.

Chris Schultz,
Business Development Manager, ANL

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