Day & Ross Establishes U.S. Operations With Purchase of Michigan Trucking Firm
Canada’s Day & Ross Transportation Group is making its first big foray into the United States with the purchase of REI Logistics and Korten Quality Systems in Romeo, Mich., from founder and CEO Chester Zochowski.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The deal is significant because it gives Day & Ross a U.S. business that is a mirror-image of its dedicated automotive delivery operations in Canada with many of the same customers.
This acquisition supports our plans to increase our operational reach in North America.
Bill Doherty, Day & Ross Transportation Group
Zochowski founded Romeo Expeditors Inc. in 1979 and has built up a fleet of 85 tractors and 180 trailers. The company specializes in so-called “milk runs” in which trucks are used to bring parts from suppliers directly to manufacturing plants located mostly in the upper Midwest. The company also provides nationwide expedited and flatbed/heavy specialized freight-hauling services.
Korten Quality Systems, a company started by Zochowski in 1989, provides a range of complementary services, including parts refurbishment and light manufacturing, kitting and product assembly and warehousing. Zochowski named the company for his daughters Korrin and Kristen.
McMahon
The two businesses will operate as Day & Ross Dedicated Logistics USA and will be headed by Shawn McMahon, president of Day & Ross Dedicated Logistics in Canada.
All of the office staff, drivers and top managers of REI Logistics and Korten Quality Systems will be retained, Mark Osborne, vice president of human resources for Day & Ross Transportation Group, said in an interview with Transport Topics on Nov. 16.
“We’re very optimistic about growth because the company will have access to additional resources,” said Osborne, who added that Zochowski, who is retiring, had been unable in recent years to meet requests from new and existing shippers for additional service.
For Day & Ross, having an operational footprint in the United States will help the company provide better service to companies, especially automotive manufacturers with facilities on both sides of the border, Osborne explained.
“This acquisition supports our plans to increase our operational reach in North America,” Bill Doherty, president and CEO of Day & Ross Transportation Group, said in a Nov. 14 statement. “The impressive track record of both the REI Logistics and Korten Quality Systems teams will fuel our growth strategy in the U.S. dedicated logistics market.”
Doherty joined Day & Ross in 2016 as part of a leadership transition plan. On June 1, he replaced longtime CEO John Doucet, who retired.
Day & Ross is owned by the agribusiness conglomerate McCain Foods and ranks No. 51 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of largest for-hire carriers in North America.
The business includes four divisions: Day & Ross Freight, which provides less-than-truckload, dry van and refrigerated truckload and flatbed transportation services in Canada; Day & Ross Dedicated Logistics; Day & Ross Supply Chain and Trade Networks; and Sameday Worldwide.
