Richmond, VA-based less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Estes Express Lines has completed the total purchase of Los Angeles-based G.I. Trucking Co., effectively extending its network to 46 states, coastto-coast.
The two companies already had a close relationship created when, in 2001, senior management from both companies purchased G.I. from Arkansas Best Corp. Estes and G.I. have had a strong working relationship through the ExpressLINK service network that links Estes and G.I. with Lakeville Motor Express in the U.S. and TST Overland Express in Canada. ExpressLINK moves freight from each carrier's territories by sleeper teams to key gateway cities in its partners' territories.
Rob Estes Jr. will be the president and CEO of the new Estes Express Lines. Present G.I. president, William Reid, will serve as president of G.I./Estes West.
"Senior management from both companies realized that while the two companies had gone far as separate entities, they could go much farther joined together," says Reid. "This is a logical next step for Estes as a national player in the LTL market."