22 DC VELOCITY MARCH 2014 www.dcvelocity.com
newsworthy
Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc., one
of the nation’s most acquisitive transportation
and logistics service providers, purchased Rich
Logistics, a Little Rock, Ark.-based truckload and
expedited service provider serving the U.S.-Mexico
trade, for $48 million.
The acquisition also includes some of the assets
of Brian Everett, a dedicated contractor to Rich,
Roadrunner said. Rich and Everett have been run
by the same management team, which will stay on
to operate the business following the deal’s closing.
Rich primarily serves the automotive industry
on cross-border lanes through a mix of company drivers and owner-operators. About half of
its business moves across the border, and about
three-quarters of it is automotive. It generated
about $113 million in revenue in 2013.
The acquisition further diversifies Kudahy, Wis.-based Roadrunner away from a total reliance on
long-haul less-than-truckload (LTL) services. In
2006, it generated all of its revenue from long-haul
LTL. In 2014, LTL accounted for only 38 percent,
according to Mark DiBlasi, Roadrunner’s president and CEO.
Much of that diversification has come from
acquisitions. The Rich deal is the 29th it has made
since 2005, and the 15th in the last two years. “We
will remain acquisitive,” DiBlasi told an industry
conference in Palm Beach, Fla., before the Rich
deal was announced.
Roadrunner, which went public in May 2010, is
an “asset-light” provider, meaning it controls its
fleet utilization but for the most part doesn’t own
the equipment or have company-owned drivers.
The company believes the industry’s pendulum
has swung in favor of providers that control their
own capacity, with those players increasingly taking market share and gaining pricing leverage.
DiBlasi told the conference that providers of
truckload services and transportation management
systems (TMS) would be high on Roadrunner’s
2014 acquisition list as the company looks to
expand its product and service offerings. Nearly
one-third of Roadrunner’s customer base uses it
for more than one service, he said.
Roadrunner focuses on small to mid-sized shippers because they tend to be more profitable than
larger businesses and have a greater need for the
full-service portfolio the company offers, DiBlasi
told the conference.
Roadrunner buys
Rich Logistics
Hytrol Conveyor Co. Inc., a provider of
automated material handling solutions,
has hired Dan Nasato as director of market development. … Genco, a provider
of product lifecycle logistics solutions, has
promoted Tom Perry to chief technology
officer and Mike Simpson to president
of Genco’s retail logistics business unit.
… David Convery has joined Ceva Logistics as country
manager, Canada. … Third-party logistics service pro-
vider Kane Is Able Inc. has named Veronica Donchez as
its new senior vice president of human resources and Ed
Shoemaker as senior director of operations. … Forte,
a distribution center design/build and
software technology firm, has promoted
Michael Howes to vice president, soft-
ware engineering and services. … Steve
Simonson has joined supply chain con-
sulting company Fortna as vice president,
sales. … Kenco, a provider of integrated
logistics solutions, real estate services,
and material handling equipment, has appointed Frazer
Middleton to the position of chief information officer.
… TZA, an engineering, technology, and consulting com-
pany, has hired Jeff Pflanzer as director of technology.
… Unarco Material Handling, a provider of warehouse
and distribution center storage systems, has named
Robert Holman vice president, engineering and project
management. … SI Systems, a subsidiary
of Paragon Technologies, has promoted
Victor Egberts to director of operations.
… a2b Fulfillment, a third-party logistics service provider with a specialty in
consumer-direct order fulfillment and
customer service, has appointed Heidi
Kalpak to the position of marketing coordinator. … Interroll Atlanta LLC has added the following people: Dave Schut as subsystems manager; Roman
Hagan as subsystems engineer for sorters; Scotty Bryant
as subsystems engineer for dynamic storage; and Cindy
Graham as an inside sales specialist. The Interroll Group
has also appointed a new spokeswoman: Petra Müller.
… Southeastern Freight Lines, a provider of regional
less-than-truckload transportation service, has promoted Austin Miller to national account manager. … Nerak
Systems Inc., a material handling equipment manufacturer, has appointed Volker Brandt president and
Simone Wakefield executive vice president. Wakefield
will retain her role as chief financial officer. … Maria
Hill has joined Walker SCM LLC, a minority-certified
global transportation and logistics firm, as director of
sales.
newsmakers
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