Private equity firm invests in RoadOne Intermodal

RoadOne said the additional funds from Tritium Partners will back the drayage company’s growth strategy.    RoadOne Intermodal Logistics on Monday picked up some additional financial muscle to further its national expansion plans when Tritium Partners opted to take a majority stake in the company. The management team, led by President and CEO Ken Kellaway and David McLaughlin, chief financial officer and chief operating officer, will remain in place, the companies said in a joint statement.
   Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
   RoadOne is one of a growing number of large, deep-pocketed motor carriers that have in recent years begun implementing consolidation strategies in the drayage sector, bringing scale, resources, sophisticated management practices, technology and more predictable service levels to a fragmented, low-margin industry dominated by mom-and-pop truckers who often have trouble meeting regulatory requirements to upgrade to cleaner diesel trucks. The value proposition for shippers is that they only have to deal with one carrier to have their local port shuttle needs cared for at ports and rail ramps around the country, and that they will get consistent service and greater visibility into their cargo status.
   Road One operates more than 1,200 tractors with owner-operator drivers across 40 locations and has an affiliate company that provides warehousing, distribution and transloading.
   The company was formed two years ago when Kellaway and McLaughlin bought RoadLink from Fenway Partners in partnership with Oskie Capital.
   Ronald Sorrow, one of the founders and CEO of RoadLink, will join the management team as executive chairman of the board, according to the announcement. Prior to RoadLink, Sorrow served as president and CEO of CSX Intermodal, a large intermodal rail and trucking subsidiary of railroad CSX Corp. At Tritium, Sorrow was CEO-in-Residence, helping the private equity firm identify investment targets in the supply chain sector.
   Kellaway and McLaughlin both worked under Sorrow at RoadLink.
   “We are incredibly excited to bring the band back together with Ken, David and Ron building the next chapter of growth in the RoadOne story. It is not often you can back the same management team that has had success together to do it a second time with the same business,” said David Lack, managing partner at Tritium.
   RoadOne’s long-term strategy includes to expanding its geographic footprint, technology capabilities and service offerings.