Heartland Express Acquires Smith Transport

Smith Transport, a locally owned trucking company, has been sold to Heartland Express for an estimated $170 million.

Founded in 1982 by Barry Smith, Roaring Spring-based Smith Transport has 850 trucks and 2,000 trailers. Smith primarily provides dry van transport and other specialized services in the eastern United States. Along with Roaring Spring, Smith also has terminals in Georgia and Indiana.

In a separate, $14 million cash deal, North Liberty, Iowa, based Heartland Express also purchased Smith's trucking terminal and its 375,000 square feet of warehouse space.

In announcing its acquisition of Smith, Michael Gerdin, Heartland Express chairman, president, and CEO said in a statement that Smith checked a lot of the boxes that make an attractive purchase.

"We were attracted to this opportunity for three main reasons," Gerdin said. "The safe and experienced professional drivers, the high level of service offered to a blue-chip customer base, and the management depth that demonstrates the ability to continue operating independently and profitably."

Gerdin said few changes are planned in Smith's operations.

"Our plan is to keep Smith the same company that is attractive to customers, drivers, and other personnel while using our scale to offer better purchasing, more depth and advantageous cost savings."

Smith Transport CEO Todd Smith said the company will continue to operate independently and doesn't foresee any changes. According to the announcement, Smith will be retained as president.

The acquisition of Smith Transport is the second major acquisition made by Heartland Express in the past three years. In 2019, Heartland purchased Black River Falls, Wisconsin, based Millis Transfer for $150 million.

Barry Smith began his career in trucking at the age of 16 by hauling milk and cream for area dairies. At age 18, Smith became a long-haul driver while managing a fleet of five trucks for his father. He then began purchasing and refurbishing long-haul trucks, building his fleet to become one of the region's largest employers.

In a statement about the purchase, Barry Smith said Heartland's purchase sets the company up for continued growth and long-term stability.

"As an employee-owned company, our goal was to find the best value and the best home for our people for years to come," Smith said. "I could not have found a better home than Heartland for the Smith family."

Smith is expected to remain involved in the company in an advisory role.