ST. JOSEPH — Family-owned temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics provider Hanson Cold Storage Co., which does business as Hanson Logistics, has been sold to a Southeast Michigan company.
Lineage Logistics LLC, a Novi-based temperature-controlled industrial real estate investment trust and logistics firm, acquired the St. Joseph-based Hanson Logistics, which was founded in 1954 and has seven distribution facilities in Michigan and Indiana. That includes operations in Hart, Benton Harbor, Decatur and Hartford in Western Michigan.
Hanson specializes in serving the food and agricultural industries. The Southwest Michigan company’s more than 46 million cubic feet of capacity ranks it as the 12th largest temperature-controlled warehousing company in North American, according to the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses.
Lineage Logistics is the industry leader with nearly 1.4 billion cubic feet of capacity as of 2020, per the association’s data.
“For decades, we have worked to build the best possible supply chain logistics program in order to support our customers through every step of the food supply chain,” Ken Whah, president and CEO of Hanson Logistics, said in a statement. “In joining the Lineage family, we are better positioned than ever to continue serving not only mid-market food processors but also large global customers.”
Whah cited the “strong cultural fit” between the two organizations as a contributing factor in the deal. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In March of this year, Hanson Logistics signed a dedicated fleet services agreement with Dubuque, Iowa-based Hirschbach Motor Lines Inc. In announcing the deal, Hanson Logistics said the growth of its frozen food distribution business has begun to outpace its transportation capacity. The agreement was aimed at providing Hanson Logistics with on-demand capacity by having Hirschbach assume its fleet transportation activities.
“To assure our customers a safe, best-of-class supply chain, we determined the optimum solution was alignment with a carrier that shared both our cultural and operational vision,” Whah said in a statement at the time.
For Lineage Logistics, the acquisition of Hanson follows five other deals in North America in 2021 that included two cold storage operations in Quebec and Pennsylvania. The company now has more than 250 facilities in 35 states and two Canadian provinces.
In a statement, Lineage President and CEO Greg Lehmkuhl said: “Hanson Logistics is another great example of a family-owned business that has served its customers with excellence for generations. Now, they’re joining the Lineage family of companies to help accelerate their growth and customers’ reach.”
