Having begun in Australia as a multi-family venture involving timber mills, logging, and trading war surplus materials such as forklifts, trucks, engines, army tents, and pallets, the now Chinese-owned brand is building a strong presence in Asia.
In 1942, the business was registered as LTC (Labuska, Taylor & Cook Company) after several of its founders. In 1952 LTC started the hire of Yale forklifts and commenced the manufacturing and hiring of pallets from its Port Melbourne premises.
In 1957 LTC management decided to rebrand and the name Loscam, a moniker also comprised of the initials of the founding members’ surnames, was born. In 1962 depots were opened in Sydney and Brisbane. As operations expanded in Australia, returnable packaging hire became indispensable to modern supply chains.
In the ensuing decades, Loscam went through several acquisitions and was listed as a public company in 1987. This facilitated international business expansion, and in 1994 Loscam entered the Asian market with its first operation in Singapore. This served as a springboard for further growth into Southeast Asia.
After several ownership changes and a subsequent delisting from the stock exchange, Loscam was held by a number of private equity firms. With Deutsche Bank Capital Partners, Loscam achieved the largest secondary management buyout in Australian corporate history.
In 2010 the China Merchants Group (CMG) purchased Loscam from Affinity Equity Partners, and corporate offices were relocated to Hong Kong. As CMG’s first new country investment, Loscam entered New Zealand in late 2011, returning to the market after a previous owner exited in 2000. Under CMG’s stewardship, Loscam achieved one million pallets in its China pool in November 2011 and continues to grow at a rapid pace.
Today, Loscam claims it is the market leader in Asia, having leveraged the region’s economic growth and modernisation of its retail industry.