History

The Halifax International story dates back to Northern Ireland in the early 1960s when a young Paul McCormac, fresh from leaving school and in search of employment, told his family he was heading ‘thatta way’, pointing vaguely in the direction of the United Kingdom. Full of bravado on the outside but secretly unsure of where precisely he should go – and more troubling, what he should be looking to do – he set sail and a few days later found himself, quite by chance, sitting an interview at Birmingham Airport for a position in freight forwarding.

Fate had intervened and as they say, the rest is history!

That he knew absolutely nothing about the industry probably worked in his favour as his prospective employer liked the idea of a novice he could teach from the word go, someone he could shape and mould to fit precisely what he was after. Paul McCormac was on his way…to a richly rewarding and successful lifetime in the freight forwarding industry.

His first tentative steps had him as a lowly runner, carrying documentation over to the various customs and excise authorities for the required signatures and approvals. Humble though it was, it gave him an invaluable insight into and education on every aspect of the business – vital skills and knowledge he was able to call on throughout a career that culminated in establishing his own company, Halifax International, in 1992.Before that, he’d moved to Adelaide with his wife and business partner Kathleen, and worked in freight forwarding in Port Adelaide, rising to the position of director before deciding he’d be better off being the master of his own destiny.

He settled on the name Halifax International as the port city of Halifax in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia was pretty much synonymous with shipping which, after all, was Paul’s line of business. He’s branched out from sea freight since then and Halifax International today offers the complete suite of domestic and international air and sea freight services. Paul and Kathleen’s son Darren joined the business in 1993 and was joined a few years later by his sister Natasha, to establish a tight-knit team that has for the past 20 years provided unsurpassed industry knowledge and customer service to a strong and loyal clientele.

As Paul puts it, it’s the commitment to an around the clock, throughout the year – Christmas Day included – service with the added bonus of the personal touch that sets Halifax International apart as the freight forwarder of choice for a growing number of customers.

Whether they’re moving the conventional freight such as rail fastening systems or those of a more interesting variety, like fresh South Australian eucalyptus leaves for a colony of koalas at Ocean Park Zoo in Hong Kong.

Or tigers from one zoo to another.

But that’s a story for another time…