Chicago, IL, July 30, 2021 – A&R Logistics (“A&R”), a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners (“Wind Point”), today announced the acquisition of RJ’s Transportation (“RJ’s”or the “Company”), a provider of bulk liquid transportation and other logistics services to the chemical industry. RJ’s represents A&R’s third acquisition of a liquid chemical supply chain services provider in the past 18 months, following the acquisitions of First Choice Logistics in February 2020 and L.T. Harnett in August 2020.
RJ’s was founded in 1990 by Riley James (“RJ”) Blanchet in Port Allen, La., where the Company remains headquartered today. The Company operates a strategically located network near key routes and ports in the North American chemical supply chain, with a majority of loads originating in the Gulf Coast. RJ’s provides over-the-road liquid bulk transportation solutions to several leading North American chemical producers and diversified industrial companies, and also offers dry bulk, dry van, LTL, and flatbed trucking services. Following the transaction, RJ’s President, Brandon Fortney, will join the A&R liquid division in a full-time capacity and RJ Blanchet will join A&R in a consulting capacity. Both Mr. Fortney and Mr. Blanchet will work closely with David Perry, President of liquid chemicals, and A&R management on continuing the growth of the newly combined liquid platform.
“We are excited to welcome the entire RJ’s family to A&R and we congratulate RJ and his team on building an industry-leading reputation through delivering high quality service to their blue-chip customer base,”stated Chris Ball, President and CEO of A&R. “RJ’s world-class platform enables A&R to continue expanding our liquid chemical capabilities and geographic coverage.”
Konrad Salaber, Managing Director at Wind Point, commented, “Creating a liquid logistics service line of scale was a critical element of A&R’s value creation plan. The acquisition of RJ’s further expands the reach of A&R’s liquid platform into strategic geographies and allows our team to continue meeting the needs of our customers across the supply chain. We look forward to continuing to build upon the combined network of both companies and fostering the RJ’s legacy.”
RJ Blanchet, founder of RJ’s, noted, “After meeting the team at A&R, I have great conviction in their vision as well as confidence that the combined team will be an excellent steward of our business and partner to our employees and customers. Brandon Fortney and I have always thought of each member of our team as the ingredients to “RJ’s sauce”and our success, and we are excited to combine this recipe with A&R’s vision. We are thrilled to become a part of the A&R family and look forward to a prosperous future together.”
Wind Point acquired A&R in 2019 in partnership with board Co-Chair Mark Holden, a veteran executive in the logistics space who served as CEO of A&R from 2012 until his planned retirement in 2021. Chris Ball, a member of the A&R leadership team since 2016 with more than 25 years of experience in the supply chain and logistics industry, was promoted from President to CEO in 2021.
RJ’s represents the sixth add-on acquisition for A&R under Wind Point’s ownership, following the additions of Blue Water Plastic Transport in June 2019, Plantgistix in November 2019, First Choice Logistics in February 2020, L.T. Harnett in August 2020 and Luckey in April 2021. A&R’s acquisition strategy will continue to focus on acquiring companies that provide dry and liquid bulk transportation, warehousing and logistics services to producers and distributors of chemicals and plastics.
Wind Point is an active investor in transportation, logistics and route-based businesses, with select prior investments including Dicom Transportation, STG Logistics, Valicor Environmental Services and AIR-serv.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel and KPMG provided transaction advisory services to A&R Logistics.