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Huron’s Food Transportation Platform Completes Add-On Acquisition
DETROIT, Mich., July 31, 2012 – Huron Capital Partners announced today that its portfolio company, Cardinal Agri-Logistics, Inc. (“Cardinal”), has acquired Charles G. Lawson Trucking, Inc. (“Lawson”), in partnership with Lawson’s management team. The investment is the 59th that Huron has completed to date.
Huron formed Cardinal in 2009 to invest in the highly-specialized, niche bulk liquid food-grade sector of the transportation and logistics industry. Cardinal’s first acquisition was Jacksonville, IL based Landes Trucking, Inc. (“Landes”) which serves grain processors throughout the Midwest. Lawson represents Cardinal’s second acquisition in this sector. Lawson is headquartered in Montgomery, AL and is a leading regional provider of specialty food transportation services to the Southeast U.S. with terminal operations in Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana. Lawson provides bulk liquid food-grade, refrigerated and dedicated van transportation services to a diverse set of food manufacturing customers. Lawson has the capability to transport a broad array of food products including soybean oil, yeast, vinegar, and a variety of other bulk and specialty food products. Lawson has been family-owned since its founding in 1976 and has grown to over 180 employees over the past 35 years.
Billy Rotton, President of Lawson, stated, “We see many similarities with Landes and Lawson – each company starting many years ago with one truck. We have both built our businesses one lane at a time by providing excellent customer service and focusing on each and every detail. We are excited to continue this tradition in partnership with Landes and Huron.”
Jim Mahoney, a Partner at Huron, stated, “We believe the addition of Lawson to Cardinal brings critical mass, expands our geographic footprint, further diversifies our customer base, and broadens our service capabilities. We are excited to join forces with Lawson to increase our level of service to existing customers and pursue new markets. Lawson’s reputation for food safety, service, and on-time delivery made this a very attractive addition to our existing platform.”
Certain information herein may contain forward-looking statements which are provided to assist the reader in understanding the beliefs and opinions with respect to future opportunities as perceived by Huron Capital and others quoted herein. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual performance in future periods to differ materially from any projections or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The issuer of these statements undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or estimates or opinions should change except as may be required by applicable securities laws.
