Bulkmatic, one of that largest dry bulk transporters in North America, said it recently acquired Paris Transport Inc. and has started operations at the terminal and warehouse location in Paris, Ill.
Customers of Paris Transport will have “continuity in management’’ as the Paris management team is staying on and will continue to run the new Bulkmatic operations, according to company officials. Shippers in the region will have access to additional capacity through the larger Bulkmatic terminal network.
“The two organizations have a similar customer focus and our networks match up very well. We believe this combination will improve service to Paris Transport’s long-standing customers by tapping into Bulkmatic’s regional capacity,” said Doug Smittkamp, vice president of Paris Transport.
Paris Transport Long History
Paris Transport has a long history of operating in the central Illinois and Indiana markets, allowing Bulkmatic to efficiently expand operations in the region, the company said. The purchased business includes dry bulk tank and dry van trucking, a tank wash and a 50-000-square-foot food-grade warehouse.
Jeff Bingham, vice president of sales at Bulkmatic, said: “Bulkmatic has always thought very highly of Paris Transport Inc. This is a great opportunity for us to leverage the benefits of market density to improve service to new and existing regional customers.’’
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Bulk FR8 Joint Venture
In other Bulkmatic news, the company said it and Bulk FR8, a major provider of liquid bulk logistics and freight management, are starting a joint venture to provide nationwide truckload capacity solutions for dry bulk shippers. The venture is called Dry Bulk FR8.
The new venture “brings together the two companies’ expertise in pneumatic tank truck management and brokerage to offer nationwide dry bulk brokerage and logistics services,’’ according to company officials.
Dry Bulk FR8 will improve shippers’ ability to handle dry-bulk supply chain challenges and provide access to capacity from a large base of tank-truck carriers capable of handling dry bulk loads, according to the announcement.
“We’ve provided dry-bulk trucking and rail transload services for more than 50 years,” said Chris Kravas, president of Bulkmatic. “We are happy to announce that we can now offer brokerage services by working with one of the best liquid bulk brokerages in the business and become a one-stop transportation solution for our customers.”
According to the new website, the company will offer brokerage, outsourced transportation management – including rail car management and transloading — and third-party logistics and project management.
Dry Bulk FR8 is headquartered at Bulkmatic’s newly renovated corporate office in Griffith, Ind. Bulk FR8’s employees have relocated from Seattle to the new company’s location.
“This is an exciting alliance because we share a similar customer service philosophy and company culture,” said Wayne Levinson, founder and president of Bulk FR8. “By combining our strong management team, advanced brokerage technology, and safety-focused processes with Bulkmatic’s expertise and capacity in dry bulk trucking, we will offer the dry bulk transportation market unparalleled service and rates.”
