Lineage Logistics, Colton, Calif., signed a definitive agreement to purchase Millard Refrigerated Services, a national third-party warehousing and logistics company headquartered in Omaha, Neb. With the acquisition of Millard, Lineage will expand its network by 30 strategic locations and increase its footprint to more than 21 million total square feet and more than 518 million cubic feet of cold storage capacity. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close within the next 30 days.

“Bringing Millard into the Lineage family will give us additional scale to support our growth and increase our investment in innovative technology, logistics offerings and our facilities, while adding talented management to our team. As a result, our customers will have unparalleled geographic and service capabilities in major logistics centers throughout the country with individually-designed solutions to fit their needs,” says Bill Hendricksen, chief executive officer for Lineage Logistics. “Millard’s highly reputable operations and dedicated focus on service makes the company a great fit for Lineage.”

Millard’s CEO and owner, Lance Larsen, will become a board member and investor in Lineage Logistics.

“Lineage’s leadership team is highly experienced and the ideal partner to continue growing Millard’s legacy,” says Larsen. “This is a terrific opportunity for all employees and customers to work with an exceptional company.”

“By acquiring Millard, we are executing on our long-term strategy to grow Lineage by adding a great family-owned company with deep entrepreneurial roots, values and culture,” says Kevin Marchetti, managing director of Bay Grove, the principal investment firm that owns Lineage Logistics. “The Lineage vision started with the acquisition of one warehouse in 2008, and has now resulted in the combination of two acknowledged leaders in the industry. We are proud of the fact that every former owner supports our vision and has chosen to remain an active investor in Lineage. The Larsen family has built a world-class company, and we are honored to be the stewards of the business for the future.”

Larry Larsen founded Millard in 1963 to serve the American food industry in the Midwest. Since then, the family-owned and operated company has grown its network to 30 facilities across the United States totaling 228 million cubic feet of capacity. In addition to cold storage distribution and warehousing, Millard provides a wide variety of value-added food logistics services, including transportation, high-pressure processing and food manufacturing.

“With over 4 billion cubic feet of refrigerated warehousing in the United States, cold chain storage is the core of our domestic food distribution infrastructure,” says Marchetti. “With the addition of Millard, Lineage will become a much larger operator in this growth industry, greatly expanding the number of markets we can serve.”