Fort Worth firm to merge with Addison’s Daseke

Lone Star Transportation, an open-deck carrier based in Fort Worth, said Oct. 3 it is merging with Daseke Inc. of Addison. The merger makes Daseke the second largest open-deck/specialty transportation company in North America. Founded as a small oilfield carrier, Lone Star has grown to nearly 500 tractors and 1,500 diverse open-deck trailers and has several terminals throughout Texas, plus additional locations throughout the United States. The company specializes in transporting complex over-dimensional and heavy shipments and is a top player in the renewable energy sector, transporting wind turbine components throughout North America.

Tex Robbins, president and CEO of Lone Star, said becoming a part of the Daseke family was the right match in service philosophy and growth potential. “We have a great reputation in the industry and have been in heavy haul since 1988,” he said. “Leadership, service, teamwork – this is who we are and what we do to make Lone Star successful. Daseke shares that philosophy as well as the other ideals we value at Lone Star. When the opportunity came to join forces, it became something that we believed would benefit our customers and employees. Joining the Daseke team gives us great sister companies to work with – versus compete against – while allowing us to maintain our existing management team to run the company as we always have.”

Daseke Inc. serves 49 states, Canada and Mexico. Combined with existing Daseke companies – Smokey Point Distributing, E.W. Wylie, J. Grady Randolph Inc., Central Oregon Truck Company and the Boyd Companies (including Boyd Bros. Transportation, WTI Transport, Mid Seven Transportation) – Daseke now offers the industry more than 2,500 tractors and nearly 5,500 open-deck trailers. “Our goal has been to offer the industry the best equipment coupled with the best drivers, service and coverage in the flatbed and open-deck category,” said Don Daseke, president and CEO of Daseke Inc. “With the addition of Lone Star, we’ve added to our capabilities, including a major presence in Mexico. It makes us the second-largest carrier in this segment of the business, but we think we’re first when it comes to capabilities and customer service.” Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

-Betty Dillard bdillard@bizpress.net