Challenger ices long-haul reefer carrier

CAMBRIDGE, Ont. — Challenger Motor Freight has purchased Lodwick Transport, a 60-truck, Beaverton, Ont. long-haul refrigeration carrier.

The acquisition comes at a time when traditional export markets are shifting, says Challenger chairman and CEO Dan Einwechter; and the demands of the shipping public and U.S. Department of Homeland Security have placed immense pressures on Canadian carriers.

Lodwick will give Challenger some higher
value lanes in a slumping southbound linehaul market

Bringing Lodwick under the Challenger banner provides synergies to both companies and is indicative of the consolidation trend in the industry where “mass is needed to meet the needs of both the client and the carriers’ regulatory commitments,” he says.

“The acquisition of Lodwick Transport to the Challenger team is a defining moment for both our companies,” said Einwechter, who explains that the purchase will expand his company’s niche temperature controlled services. “From our perspective, we’ve been able to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit of Gerry Lodwick and his team while at the same time giving them the depth and support of a much larger continent-wide enterprise.”

Gerry Lodwick, president of Lodwick, says he’s impressed with how Challenger is sustaining growth in a declining southern Ontario market.

“With their backing, we will be able to achieve our goal of substantially increasing our reefer fleet while receiving their administrative, purchasing, and marketing support yet continue to operate Lodwick as a distinct company,” he says.

A small, third-generation family fleet, Lodwick is respected as pound-for-pound one of the most innovative in the country. It was the first Canadian carrier to offer remote temperature monitoring of freight on trailers for their customers.

Under Challenger, it will operate about 180 units.

Challenger is one of Canada’s largest for-hire carriers, running 1,500 trucks and 3,300 trailers. It additionally operates Elgin Motor Freight, Cam Hiltz Trucking, and MCX as separate entities.