G&D Integrated Moves Into Tanker Business With Acquisition
G&D Integrated has begun hauling alcohol and other liquid and dry-bulk commodities with its purchase of tank-truck assets from Bell Enterprises Inc., an agricultural firm and grain hauler based in Deer Creek, Ill.
“The combination of Bell’s tanker experience with our existing transportation capabilities expands our services into the hauling of not only food-grade alcohol, but also other bulk products transported by tanker,” said Jeff Cohen, vice president of transportation at G&D Integrated in Morton, Ill.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Bell operates four grain elevators in Illinois, and its transportation division offers hauling services for grain, liquid and dry fertilizer, food-grade commodities, anhydrous ammonia, LP gas, alcohol and liquid chemicals.
Bell’s fleet consists of 20 tractors, two straight trucks and 74 trailers, according to registration data on file with the U.S. Department of Transportation. G&D acquired six of the tractors and 18 of the trailers, plus 10 of Bell’s truck drivers and its dispatch supervisor who will form the core of a new business unit that will provide tanker service to shippers in the Midwest and Southeast.
“We plan to grow the tanker business and have more than 30 power units within the next 12 months,” Cohen said in an interview with Transport Topics on Oct. 3. “The reaction from customers when they saw that we were entering the business has been encouraging. Shippers are very conscious of truck capacity right now, and the presence of a new provider gives them more choices.”
G&D Integrated, which traces its origins to the 19th century, provides truckload, drayage and dedicated contract carriage services mainly to industrial and commercial shippers in the Midwest and Southeast. The company operates a fleet of 430 tractors and about 2,200 trailers and chassis and has 12 terminals in Illinois, Indiana, Georgia and South Carolina. The company also offers warehousing, fabrication and assembly, freight brokerage and supply chain management services and generates annual revenue of more than $100 million, Cohen said.
The company ranks No. 31 on Transport Topics’ list of largest for-hire carriers in the dedicated contract carriage sector.
