Kriska buys Muir’s truckload division

PRESCOTT, Ont. — Kriska Holdings, one of Canada’s 50 largest for-hire carriers, has announced the acquisition of Muir’s International, a separately run, cross-border truckload division of Muir’s Cartage.

Kriska will add about 45 power-units and drivers hauling general goods in and out of the U.S. to its current fleet of 380 trucks and 1,100 trailers.

Other operations and assets of Muir’s Cartage are not part of the agreement.

“Our strategy is to add quality revenue and quality people to the Kriska organization,” says Kriska President Mark Seymour in an interview with TodaysTrucking.com.

Muir’s gives Kriska an opportunity to expand
capacity and its cross-border customers.

While a handful of other large Central Canadian truckload fleets are looking to make footprints in growing western-based energy, LTL, and intermodal markets, Seymour says he prefers to grow in areas he knows best, even if margins in some of those segments are thin these days.

“(General truckload) is definitely a fragile economy,” he admits. “But our belief is that this is our core business and we’re not venturing from our core skills and competencies. There’s always going to be a need for cross-border activity, even though right now it’s definitely under fire and under some stress.

“But we think we need to grow and add quality revenue. And we’d rather do it this way than go out and get under rates that are already too low. It’s tough to grow organically right now unless you’re willing to play that game, and that’s not a game we’re willing to play.”

This acquisition follows the purchase of Ottawa-based carrier Lavigne Truck Lines in June. The family-operated fleet, which is being run separately with existing management, added 40 power units to Kriska’s operations.
Seymour says the recent moves are an attempt to add capacity by securing professional manpower while also diversifying the carrier’s customer base.

“It’s not about a fascination with trucks. It’s about putting the company in the best possible position with the least amount of risk,” Seymour says, pointing to a series of recent manufacturing layoffs in Ontario as proof carriers shouldn’t have too many loads in a handful of customers’ baskets. “We have solid customers on solid ground, but you just never know. And we feel have to guard against that.”

Going forward, Seymour says he’ll continue to keep his ear to the ground for the right acquisition opportunities, but admits he has his hands full right now. “I didn’t set out at the beginning of the year that we had to do two or five or 10. We don’t jump on every one that comes our way; we look for the best fit.

“But it’s a big part of our landscape right now. The whole industry is eat or get eaten. Not everybody would believe in those principles, but for us, our commitment to the business is that we feel we need to grow.”