Port of Tauranga has announced it is buying Auckland based Tapper Transport Ltd and associated companies, with purchase taking effect from mid-April 2010.
'We are deeply saddened that Simon Tapper cannot announce it with us jointly, following his sad passing yesterday after a period of ill health,” says Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns.

'This is an announcement we have been working on for several months and it was Simon's and his family's wish to proceed with the announcement as only days ago he was so looking forward to today.
'In his mind, he regarded it as perfect closure for a career in the freight business that he was so passionate about.”
Port of Tauranga has bought Tapper Transport to enable it to further develop Metroport, the inland port at Southdown in South Auckland.
Tapper Transport is a family company with long-serving staff and a strong customer service ethic, and is a logical choice as a business partner because of its compatibilities with Port of Tauranga, says Mark.
Tapper Transport operations are adjacent to Metroport, a key part of the Auckland supply chain.
The development of an integrated freight centre and distribution hub in South Auckland is a vision Tapper Transport director Simon Tapper promoted for many years, and
the development of Tapper Transport's new multimodal container hub adjacent to MetroPort is a realisation of that vision, says Chris Tapper.
'He saw the physical location of the two adjacent facilities in the centre of 80 per cent of Auckland's importers and exporters would give our clients the most cost effective and efficient service possible,” says Chris.
'He had no doubt the project would form an essential part of Auckland's freight infrastructure, and for that reason, Tapper Transport could not have undertaken it alone.
'Simon recognised that the close alignment of Port of Tauranga's and Tapper Transport's culture, and our shared vision, made the choice very easy.”