GEODIS has reached an agreement to acquire Velocity Transport and signed an agreement to acquire GANDON Transports, in the last week.
The company has reached an agreement to acquire all of the assets of Velocity Freight Transport, Inc., a freight brokerage company based in Plano, Texas, from McLane Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
The acquisition expands GEODIS’ Capacity Solutions offering in North America at a critical time as the industry continues to face ongoing driver and truck shortages. The acquisition of Velocity will help meet the increased customer demand for more transportation alternatives to ensure their supply chains remain agile and effective. Velocity provides freight brokerage services that include refrigerated and temperature-controlled freight, flatbed and less-than-load (LTL) trucking, intermodal, van, and speciality options. Velocity’s team will remain in Plano, expanding GEODIS’ operation in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area where it currently employs up to 3,500 people.
“Velocity began with the vision of becoming the first choice in freight brokerage with a reputation built on our principled approach and quality of service,” said John Lower, Vice President at Velocity. “This new chapter with GEODIS will allow us to build upon our success and enable further growth opportunities. By combining our resources with GEODIS’ truly expansive reach, we will ultimately be able to provide our clients with a broader range of services across the Americas and globe.”
With its Americas region headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., GEODIS operates a full-service managed transportation line of business in the US Additionally, GEODIS operates more than 150 warehouse facilities for its clients with over 47m sq ft of warehousing space in the US alone. GEODIS now has more than 15,000 employees across North America.
Just under a week after the Velocity acquisition announcement, GEODIS has signed an agreement to acquire GANDON Transports. GANDON Transports is a company specializing in the transport of temperature-controlled pharmaceutical products. Already active in the healthcare market, GEODIS will now be able to expand its capabilities and pursue its development in this market segment.
“This acquisition will consolidate GEODIS’ status as a key player in the healthcare market. From inventory planning to temperature-controlled storage and transport to the final recipient, we want to offer our customers a complete and reliable solution throughout the supply chain,” explained, Marie-Christine Lombard, Chief Executive Officer of GEODIS.
With its recognized expertise in the transport of pharmaceutical products at controlled temperatures (2/8°C and 15/25°C), GANDON Transports has an extensive network that will strengthen the capacity of GEODIS to distribute to pharmacies, hospitals and wholesalers throughout France.
“This operation will meet our customers’ growing demand for temperature-controlled transport of the healthcare products. This new resource will enable us to offer our current and future customers a transport service for heat-sensitive products, anywhere in France,” said, Stéphane Cassagne, Executive Vice President of GEODIS’s Distribution & Express Line of Business.
Source: GEODIS
