Allen Lund Co. Forms Joint Venture, TransKool Solutions
Allen Lund Co. has formed a joint venture with Santos International called TransKool Solutions, which will operate a temperature-controlled warehouse in McAllen, Texas, and offer brokerage services to transport produce and other refrigerated goods from Mexico to the United States and Canada..
Allen Lund Co., which ranks No. 20 on the Transport Topics sector list of top freight brokerage firms, specializes in the produce market but also works with dry van and flatbed freight.
Santos International is an international freight forwarding company with warehousing and U.S. Customs brokerage services for the United States and Mexico.
“We both had customers asking us to provide more of a cross-dock facility at the border on the U.S. side, so that we can help get produce across from Mexico but then also transload it and transport it anywhere in the U.S. or Canada,” said Ken Lund, vice president of operations.
Some of the produce that is frequently transported from Mexico to the United States includes avocados, berries, tomatoes, peppers and mangos, said Scott Fletcher, manager of the Allen Lund Dallas office.
“What we see four or five years from now is someone who, let's say, is shipping strawberries from central Mexico going into Canada. We can handle the customs brokerage at both the Mexican and Canadian borders. It would be on one invoice, whereas right now, they might get up to 10 or 12 invoices,” he said.
Kristi Salinas has been appointed to run the new company.
“We are really excited about the joint venture with Santos International," said Eddie Lund, vice president of sales and branch operation. "We knew going in that we could both help our customers if we put together a warehouse solution in the valley. Once we met the Santos family, it became an easy decision for us to go forward with the program. We have a similar culture and values and they provide us the expertise and local knowledge in McAllen that is essential.”
