Hudson Hill Capital, a New York-based private investment firm, acquired majority stakes in Global Transport Logistics, Inc. (GTLi), Glen Rock, N.J., and Am Trans Expedite, Inc., Addison, Ill., to form Fusion Transport, LLC, a newly established logistics holding company. 

This transaction brings together proprietary capacity and innovative solutions to create an evolutionary national logistics network focused on retail consolidation, less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping and multimodal transportation brokerage. The founders and senior executives of both GTLi and Am Trans retained significant equity in the combined company and will continue in key leadership roles. The two companies will operate as subsidiaries of Fusion Transport.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to partner with the Matarazzo family from GTLi and the founders of Am Trans,” says Eric Rosen, managing partner at Hudson Hill Capital. “We have been targeting an investment in transportation and logistics for some time. Fusion Transport is both the culmination of that initial effort and the beginning of an exciting next phase. In partnership with Frank Matarazzo, Mike Wallace and Bob Trusz, we see an opportunity to build Fusion Transport into a leading national value-added logistics provider.”

GTLi operates a retail vendor consolidation service with dedicated warehouses in New Jersey, Texas and California. Through this network, GTLi consolidates LTL shipments from multiple vendors for weekly truckload delivery. On a combined basis, Fusion Transport will launch a fourth consolidation point in Illinois in the third quarter of 2019.

Am Trans features a unique combination of proprietary network capacity and high-touch brokerage services. The company’s fleet includes over 300 pieces of equipment, which allows Am Trans to move challenging cargo (hot shot, expedited and oversize/overweight) even in the most capacity-constrained times.

Fusion Transport moves retail, grocery and volume LTL freight weekly to every part of the country from hubs in northern New Jersey, northern Texas, southern California, northern California and the greater Chicago area. The company also moves freight into demanding delivery environments, leveraging over 400 combined pieces of equipment, a dedicated internal fleet for local pick-up and delivery and more than 20,000 third-party carriers.

“With Fusion, we have taken an important step toward our shared vision of creating a unique national network, one that is built to move retail, grocery and volume LTL freight better, on time and at a lower cost,” says Frank Matarazzo, chief executive officer of Fusion Transport. “At GTLi, we have over 20 years of history moving LTL through an expanding network. When we first met Am Trans, we immediately saw the opportunity for a transformative combination.”

“The partnership with GTLi makes sense on so many levels,” adds Mike Wallace, co-founder of Am Trans and president of Logistics of Fusion Transport. “Our capacity networks fit together hand-in-glove to form a national backbone, and our teams share a culture of unwavering commitment to the customer. GTLi’s highly customized transportation management system will leapfrog what we can offer customers in terms of freight visibility.”

“This deal is 100% about serving customers better,” says Bob Trusz, co-founder of Am Trans and president of asset services of Fusion Transport. “We will have a stronger, more complete network, more robust technology and more comprehensive service offerings. With Fusion, we are excited to bring our high-touch transactional brokerage capability to GTLi’s customers.”