A&R Logistics, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners, recently acquired Blue Water Plastic Transport (BWP), a specialty bulk transportation and logistics company headquartered in St. Clair MI.
The acquisition of BWP, founded in 1988, expands A&R’s geographic presence in the Midwestern United States and increases A&R’s overall transportation capacity with additional tractors and specialty trailers, the company said.
Mostly servicing Michigan, Illinois and Ohio, BWP provides specialty dry bulk transportation, warehousing and logistics services primarily related to plastic resin across a diverse customer base, which includes plastics manufacturers, distributors and recyclers.
“On behalf of the entire A&R team, I am happy to welcome the BWP team into the A&R family,” said Mark Holden, A&R CEO. “Both companies share common customer bases, but more importantly common values and cultures, and we are thrilled about the combination. We believe BWP and A&R customers will benefit from our combined organization and look forward to serving our customers with the future opportunities this acquisition creates.”
Wind Point said the acquisition continues its history of supporting its portfolio companies with additional capital for growth, and marks A&R’s first acquisition as it seeks to diversify its service offering and geographic presence to better serve customers.
“BWP is a great strategic acquisition for A&R as it increases both the company’s tractor fleet and its density in the Midwest,” said Konrad Salaber, managing director with Wind Point. “We’re excited to have closed the first of what we hope is several acquisitions with Mark and the A&R team.”
Wind Point Partners acquired A&R in May of 2019 in partnership with Holden, a 25-year veteran of the transportation and logistics industry.
In cooperation with Holden and A&R management, Wind Point will seek to continue expanding the A&R platform through a combination of organic growth and complementary acquisitions like BWP, Wind Point said.