Refrigerated carrier R.E. Garrison buys Georgia produce hauler

Boaty’s Transport adds more than 50 tractors to network

R.E. Garrison adds Boaty's to the portfolio. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Alabama-based refrigerated carrier R.E. Garrison Trucking said Monday it acquired fellow temperature-controlled fleet Boaty’s Transport.

Financial terms of the transaction were not provided.

Located in Jackson, Georgia, Boaty’s primarily hauls produce throughout the U.S. Southeast with a fleet of more than 50 tractors and 80 refrigerated trailers. Boaty’s will continue to operate under its current name.

“Boaty’s stood out to our Board of Directors because of their longstanding position within the produce industry and we are incredibly enthusiastic about Boaty’s joining the team,” Wyles Griffith, president and co-owner of R.E. Garrison, stated in a news release.

Boaty’s founder, Michael Boatwright, plans to retire in the coming months. At that time his son, Shaun, will handle the daily operations of the business.

“One of the things that excites me the most about this transition to Garrison is the fact that we will still maintain our small company feel while adding many additional benefits for our employees and clients,” Boatwright said.

Founded more than 60 years ago, R.E. Garrison is an employee-owned, asset-based carrier with more than 1,000 employees. The company also provides brokerage and freight management services as well as factoring, leasing and equipment services to drivers. It operates a fleet of 720 power units, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data.

“Growing our business alongside Boaty’s will create a great and lasting partnership that we can both be proud of,” Donovon Lovell, VP and co-owner of R.E. Garrison, said.

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Todd Maiden

Based in Richmond, VA, Todd is the finance editor at FreightWaves. Prior to joining FreightWaves, he covered the TLs, LTLs, railroads and brokers for RBC Capital Markets and BB&T Capital Markets. Todd began his career in banking and finance before moving over to transportation equity research where he provided stock recommendations for publicly traded transportation companies.