Birdsall Acquires Deluxe Freight

Birdsall, Inc., a subsidiary of Nicor and parent company of Tropical Shipping, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Miami-based Deluxe Freight. Terms of the agreement were not announced.

Tropical Shipping, a leading carrier of containerized freight in the Bahamas and Caribbean, is expanding its logistics services in the Caribbean with the purchase of Deluxe Freight, the leading non-vessel operating common carrier in the Cayman Islands market.

Deluxe handles less-than-container load and full-container load consolidation. It will remain headquartered in Miami and will operate as a separate brand, Nicor said in an announcement. Willie Munoz, president of Deluxe Freight, will remain in his current position.

“We have always viewed Deluxe as a premier provider of LCL services with an unmatched commitment to superior and personalized customer service,” said Rick Murrell, Tropical Shipping’s chairman and president. “Cayman is a key market for Tropical and our most significant in terms of LCL revenue. While the acquisition is small in relation to our total volumes, the Deluxe brand addition expands our service offerings in a market that is important to our long-term success.”

Contact Thomas L. Gallagher at tgallagher@joc.com.