Air Van acquires Imeson Distribution Center

The company adds more than 700,000 square feet of warehouse space with the Sept. 1 purchase.


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Air Van Inc., a Jacksonville-based third-party logistics company, announced Sept. 6 it acquired logistics provider Imeson Distribution Center.

The purchase included the Imeson warehouse locations at 550 Gun Club Road and 555 Zoo Parkway Road. Both are in North Jacksonville. 

The Sept. 1 transaction added more than 700,000 square feet of warehousing space, increasing Air Van’s total space to more than 800,000 square feet of mixed storage availability, according to a news release. 

That figure includes 35,000 square feet acquired with Air Van’s purchase of G & C Cartage Co. Inc. in February.

The purchase price was not disclosed. 

Imeson has accommodated commercial transportation services since it was founded in 1983, the release said.

Both Imeson locations were leased before the acquisition. Tyler Newman and Jacob Horsley of commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield worked with Air Van and the landlord to negotiate a long-term lease renewal.  

Imeson CEO Daniel Webb and Air Van owner Chip Matthews are second-generation owners, following in their fathers’ footsteps. Matthews values the importance of the family-owned legacy and will continue to serve Imeson’s clients with that same priority, the release said. 

Ike Sherlock

“We have extreme respect for the accomplishments and service Imeson Distribution Center provided its clients over the last 40 years,” Ike Sherlock, president and CEO of Air Van, said in the release. 

“We have some big shoes to fill, but with all that Air Van, Inc. can offer our entire client base, especially with the benefits of this purchase, we are more prepared than ever to service each customer, however big or small.”  

Air Van has grown since Sherlock became president and CEO. With the two acquisitions in 2024, the company has more than doubled in size, according to the release. 

Along with additional mixed storage space and additional locations, the acquisition adds trucking, brokerage and customs-bonded offerings to current Imeson customers and rail-sided, temperature-controlled storage offerings to current Air Van customers. 

Air Van was formed in 1957 by brothers Lex De Benton and B.D. Benton, who saw a need for pickup and delivery services from domestic and international airlines, according to the company website.

The company relocated in 2016 from a 60,000-square-foot facility in the Jacksonville International Tradeport to a 110,000-square-foot building in Alta Lakes Commerce Center.

The Alta Lakes facility at 11070 Cabot Commerce Circle moved Air Van closer to Jacksonville’s port. The Tradeport is near Jacksonville International Airport.

 

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