Well known Southwest Michigan businessman Jeff Curry from Niles is on the brink of a new adventure. His Premium Transportation Logistics company has been acquired by Bolt Express where he joins the team in an advisory role focused on strategic growth initiatives.
Curry, who also serves as Vice Chair of the Lake Michigan College Board of Trustees, continues to move at the speed of light, channeling the expertise and power of his late friend, mentor and colleague Mike Welch. He had just acquired PTL last summer from Welch’s Magnate Worldwide team, and the deal with Bolt Express popped onto his radar at a perfect time.
Curry says, “I had four boxes I wanted checked. Trustworthiness, Intellectual Bandwidth, Financial Stability, and the Desire to Grow. Bolt checked all the boxes.” As a result, the Premium Transportation Logistics team of expedited services providers will meld into the Bolt Express culture and march forward. Both firms are based in Toledo, Ohio, and Curry says, “I’ve known the Bolt team for years, and have great respect for them.”
At Bolt headquarters, CEO Guy Sanderson says, “We are very excited about this acquisition and the impact it will have on our plans for future growth and success. We are enhancing our ability to support our customer’s shipping needs and we will also see improvements to fleet utilization.” Sharing Curry’s mutual respect, Sanderson says, “We were very impressed with the PTL culture that emphasizes safety and customer service. They will be a great fit at Bolt and we are looking forward to welcoming and working with our new team members, drivers and customers.”
Terms of the deal are not being disclosed, however, Curry says, “Scale is increasingly important in our transportation niche, and this greatly enhanced what we can do for our drivers and customers.” He concludes, “I look forward to providing business development help in sales, capacity development, and finding acquisitions going forward.”
Curry is a veteran of both the finance and transportation industries, serving previously as President of Express-1, the top-100 motor carrier founded by his friend Mike Welch of Stevensvile, and sold to XPO Logistics in 2011. At that time he oversaw three locations with 120 employees and 700 independent contractors while managing more than $100-million in revenues. His partners at PTL were Keith Avery and Brad Kelley.
Bolt Express provides time critical transportation solutions throughout the US, Canada and Mexico, and are committed to be “the most trusted and reliable transportation service provider in North America.”
Founded in 2002, Premium Transportation Logistics provides premier ground transportation and logistics services to the North American market, with customer-focused transportation solutions to a wide range of industries – “exceeding expectations with superior customer service, competitive pricing, technology, and on-time service.”
