William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Oct 13, 2011 12:33PM EDT
Logistics services company Transplace is expanding from its trucking base into intermodal rail by merging with intermodal marketer Celtic International.
The combined companies, both owned by private equity firm CI Capital Partners, have more than $1 billion in annual sales in transportation management, technology, intermodal rail and truck brokerage.
Chicago-based Celtic will function as a stand-alone division, headed by President Richard Hyland, of Transplace, headed by CEO Tom Sanderson.
By joining forces, Transplace and Celtic will be better positioned to serve shipper customers that are shifting freight from road to rail.
Transplace has been eyeing acquisitions that add new vertical markets or freight capacity, purchasing chemical logistics company SCO Logistics in April. The Dallas-based company recently named George Abernathy president of logistics, freeing CEO Tom Sanderson to spend more time on its acquisition strategy.
“We see enormous growth opportunities in intermodal transportation as truckload capacity tightens and fuel prices remain high,” said Sanderson.
Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter at @wbcassidy_joc
