Kenan Advantage Group Acquires Bulk Food Carrier Group

Kenan Advantage Group has acquired Agri-Carriers Group Inc., a company based in Jacksonville, Illinois, that specializes in hauling food-grade products in bulk, including soybean oils, yeast, vinegar and corn syrup, used to manufacture food products in the United States. The company also provides refrigerated and dedicated van transportation services.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The deal doubles the size of Kenan Advantage Group’s food transportation business, according to executives at the North Canton, Ohio-based firm.

The Agri-Carriers Group consists of Landes Trucking Inc. in Jacksonville and Charles G. Lawson Trucking Inc. in Hope Hull, Alabama. The companies operate a combined fleet of 250 tractors and 425 trailers, employ 375 drivers and office workers, and operate five terminals and four food-grade tank washing stations.

“By partnering with this ‘best-in-class’ organization, we have doubled the size of our food transportation business,” said Dennis Nash, CEO of KAG. “We are committed to the success of this growing platform. Their expertise and scale in this space complements our legacy business and firmly establishes KAG as one of the leading food-grade carriers in the U.S.”

Roger Ross, CEO of ACG, said the “alignment of core values, operational structure and strategic plans made our decision to join KAG extremely compelling.”

“By combining our talented employees, fleet and terminal locations, we expect to further enhance services to our collective customers while expanding our customer base and food-grade product service lines,” he said. “This will also provide additional career opportunities for our employees.”

Kenan Advantage Group ranks No. 21 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers with 2015 revenue of $1.5 billion. It is the largest carrier in the tank/bulk sector in North America.

The company provides a variety of transportation services, including fuel delivery, distribution of chemicals, industrial gases and ethanol, and logistics services, including transportation management, fuel storage and transloading. The last major acquisition by KAG was the purchase in 2013 of RTL-Westcan, a bulk hauler operating in western and northern Canada.

Prior to the latest acquisition, KAG operated 4,458 company-owned tractors and 1,875 owner-operator and lease-to-own tractors, along with 9,491 trailers.

More acquisitions of food-grade bulk carriers could be in the offing, according to Charlie Delacey, vice president of corporate development for KAG.

“The acquisition of ACG is a strong strategic fit that demonstrates our focus on the food-grade industry,” Delacey said. “We will continue to pursue additional growth opportunities in the sector as we further expand our leadership position in food-grade transportation.”