Direct Trailer Acquires Antares Trailers in Flatbed Deal
Direct Trailer has acquired Antares Trailers in a deal that combines the capabilities of the two flatbed manufacturers. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The companies said in the Dec. 9 announcement that their product lineups are complementary.
Direct Trailer, through its Loadstar brand, offers a line of steel trailers in addition to combos and focuses primarily on custom equipment. The company is based in Kingwood, Texas, with manufacturing facilities in Alabama.
Antares, based in Winamac, Indiana, builds combo flats and drops with an emphasis on common equipment specifications.
Derrick Dilts, currently operations partner at Antares, will become president of Direct Trailer. He will succeed John Nelson, who is retiring at year’s end.
Dilts described the acquisition as “a perfect match – a strategic union which will provide Direct Trailer with the designs and assembly technology to be competitive in the high-volume, common-specification flat and drop markets.”
With the addition of Antares, Direct Trailer has expanded its production capabilities from one location making 400 mostly custom flatbeds and drops per year, to producing more than 1,000 steel- and combo-flatbeds with intermodal and custom capabilities at multiple manufacturing locations, said Herb Creech, Direct Trailer’s chief operating officer.
“Together, the company gains immediate bandwidth to meet the needs of current customers plus the new ability to pursue larger volume business,” he said.
