A Leicestershire haulage giant founded by ex-Dragon鈥檚 Den star Hilary Devey has completed a deal to buy a rival firm.
Pall-Ex Group, which is headquartered at Ellistown, near Coalville, has acquired the Fortec Distribution Company for an undisclosed sum.
Pall-Ex runs networks across the 海角视频 and Europe. It employs around 400 people directly in the 海角视频, while its wider network supports around 8,000 jobs.
The latest acquisition has been made by a new subsidiary company called For-Ex Distribution Network.
The new acquisition will remain trading as Fortec Distribution and will continue to operate as a separate pallet network within the 海角视频 but will be part of the overall Pall-Ex Group of companies.
The two firms, which were both founded in Leicestershire in 1996, have a combined total of 168 network members, the largest in the 海角视频.
Fortec鈥檚 210,000 sq ft warehouse at Watling Park, in Northamptonshire, will give the entire Pall-Ex Group more than 600,000 sq ft of hub capacity.
It is the second purchase by Pall-Ex Group since Ms Devey decided to sell the business to its senior management team and shareholder members in November.
Kevin Buchanan, group chief executive at Pall-Ex Group, said: 鈥淭his is a significant step in Pall-Ex鈥檚 growth plans and a strategic move that will further strengthen our position in the 海角视频.
鈥淭he addition to the group presents many benefits to our collective membership.
鈥淧all-Ex members are experiencing an increase in freight volume and need access to additional hub capacity, while Fortec members will have a say in the operation of their network under our unique shareholder model.
鈥淔ortec customers will also benefit from being able to utilise Nexus and our international service, Pall-Ex Connect.
鈥淲hile both firms will retain their brand identities, there are clear synergies that make this a natural partnership and we look forward to working together, winning together and becoming stronger together in this new era.鈥
Adrian Bradley, managing director at Fortec, said: 鈥淭he acquisition places Fortec in a strong position and with Pall-Ex Group鈥檚 support and innovative new technology we can expand and enhance our network for the benefit of our members and our entire customer-base.
鈥淲e look forward to this new era, being part of the Pall-Ex family and providing members with the opportunity to invest in the network as shareholders.鈥
