Jacksonville-based Tri-Star Semi Truck & Trailer Services announced Tuesday it will acquire another local company, Transportation Equipment Specialists.
The companies expect to finalize the deal in the coming weeks, according to a news release. The deal has been in the works for about six months. A spokesman declined to disclose the acquisition price.
Tri-Star, founded in 2000, provides truck and trailer repair and logistics services. With the acquisition, Tri-Star will expand its services to include custom container modification, container repair, sandblasting, painting and container storage, which Transportation Equipment Specialists provided since it was founded in 1988.
Operations will transition into the Tri-Star facilities on Edgewood Avenue and in Palatka in the coming months, with all operations likely moving to the Tri-Star facilities.
Tri-Star will build a sandblasting facility, and those operations will move there once it’s complete.
Clay Glisson, president and CEO of Tri-Star, said the company’s operations would remain similar to how they were before, but will allow for growth and promotions for several staff members. He declined to name who would be receiving promotions.
In total, the merged company will have 50 employees. Transportation Equipment Specialists staff members will keep their jobs.
The acquisition was made to “provide continued support for the team that helped TES reach 30 years in service and provide growth and expansion opportunity for TriStar,” Glisson said.
Glisson said Tri-Star would become “one of the most capable companies of our type in this industry.”
“There is a critical need in the transportation services market for a one-stop shop that provides high-quality service in all phases of the experience: pricing, scheduling, customer service, repairs, accounting, and follow-up,” Glisson said.
Transportation Equipment Specialists founder and President Danny Ray Barlow will retire after more than 30 years with the company.
“I am pleased to be able to retire, knowing that my company will continue to serve the industry for many more years,” Barlow said. “It is refreshing to find such a similar vision within the Tri-Star family, and I’m happy to be able to bring the TES offering into the much broader suite of services at Tri-Star so that all of our customers can benefit from these expanded services.”