It is one of the oldest family-owned businesses in New Zealand.

But after 120 years of being passed down from father to son, Invercargill haulage business A Phillips & Sons Limited has been sold.

The Woodlands-based trucking firm was bought recently by Kapuka Heenans Transport, which is a subsidiary of NZ's largest privately-owned transport business HW Richardson.

Phillips Transport co-owner Murray Phillips says: "It was started off by our father's father's father, so she goes back a long way.

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"We're just about the oldest family transport company in New Zealand.

"But we've got the trucks where we want them now and we're not getting any younger. We're all in our 60s and there's no family to leave it to on the end of the line. If my son was interested, I'd be here until I was 90, but what do you do. "

Dad Chappie Phillips, who owned the business with his brother Gordy, was a well known in the Woodlands community and Southland’s rural transport industry.

He worked right up until his death at the age of 81, helping shape the region's farming industry from the cab of his Isuzu 650.

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The company, a general carrier hauling stock, fertiliser, gravel and other industry necessities, has relied on a range of vehicles from different manufacturers over the years, from the Bedford S types, to Bedford TKs, Isuzu, Mann and more recently Mercedes for its stock truck and bulkies.

It now has nine vehicles, including 50-tonne units, and employs four drivers, sometimes bolstered by a casual.

Murray, who's been working in the business for more than 46 years, along with his cousin Mark, says he'll continue on with Kaupka Heenans, as will the drivers.

"I'll be still on the phone every day, doing the day to day running, so it will be status quo really."

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But that's not made the decision to sell much easier.

"It certainly wasn't an easy decision, a bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride really, because it's been in the Phillips blood for all our lives.

"But nothing ever lasts, you've got to make a decision one way or the other, and Wayne and Shannon McEwan at Kaupka Heenans have been very good to deal with."