Huron Capital Partners announced today that its portfolio company, Cardinal Agri-Logistics, has acquired Charles G. Lawson Trucking, in partnership with Lawson’s management team.
“We believe the addition of Lawson to Cardinal brings critical mass, expands our geographic footprint, further diversifies our customer base, and broadens our service capabilities. We are excited to join forces with Lawson to increase our level of service to existing customers and pursue new markets. Lawson’s reputation for food safety, service, and on-time delivery made this a very attractive addition to our existing platform,” said Jim Mahoney, a Partner at Huron.
Huron formed Cardinal Agri-Logistics in 2009 to invest in the highly-specialized, niche bulk liquid food-grade sector of the transportation and logistics industry. Cardinal’s first acquisition was Landes Trucking which serves grain processors throughout the Midwest. Lawson represents Cardinal’s second acquisition in this sector.
Charles G. Lawson Trucking is a regional provider of specialty food transportation services to the Southeast U.S. with terminal operations in Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana. Lawson provides bulk liquid food-grade, refrigerated and dedicated van transportation services to food manufacturers. Lawson has been family-owned since its founding in 1976 and has grown to over 180 employees over the past 35 years. The company is headquartered in Montgomery, AL (no website found).
“We see many similarities with Landes and Lawson – each company starting many years ago with one truck. We have both built our businesses one lane at a time by providing excellent customer service and focusing on each and every detail. We are excited to continue this tradition in partnership with Landes and Huron,” said Billy Rotton, President of Lawson.
Cardinal Agri-Logistics transports a variety of bulk vegetable oils, tropical oils, and syrups to food manufacturing plants throughout the Midwest, and operates two kosher-certified tank wash facilities in Illinois. The company is based in Jacksonville, IL (www.landestruckinginc.com).
Huron Capital Partners invests up to $70 million per transaction in middle market companies that have revenues up to $300 million and EBITDAs of $5 million or more. Typical transaction values are from $20 million to $200 million. Sectors of interest include niche manufacturing, distribution and business services. Since its founding in 1999, Huron has acquired or invested in 59 companies with aggregate revenues in excess of $1 billion. Investments have been made in the US and Canada in a variety of areas, including print solutions & document management, education, healthcare products & services, specialty chemicals, specialty packaging, consumer products, home décor, passenger transportation services, building products, office furniture components and laboratory testing. Huron Capital currently manages over $600 million in committed equity through three private equity funds, and has offices in Detroit and Toronto (www.huroncapital.com).
