Two family-owned truck dealerships are merging, effective Jan. 1, 2014, to create a single entity with yearly revenues approaching $1 billion.
Roberts Truck Center, a holding company for truck and bus dealerships in Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, and Diamond Companies, a holding company for International Truck and IC Bus dealerships in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee, will combine for “improved financial strength and the ability to deliver long-term operating performance and improvements through increased scale,” according to a release from the firms.
The company will employ 1,300 people at 29 locations in 26 markets.
In announcing the planned merger, the principals of the new organization, Blaine Roberts, president of Roberts Truck Center, Blair Roberts, vice president of Roberts Truck Center, and Richard Sweebe, president and CEO, Diamond Companies, said, “This merger represents a new beginning for our two successful companies. It enables us to become an even more efficient transportation solutions provider that is better able to compete in the rapidly changing commercial truck and bus industry. Our objective is to continue to grow and to build on our reputations for integrity, quality, and service in the markets we serve.”
The new enterprise will be a privately held company and the key principals will remain in their leadership positions. Corporate functions of the new entity will be directed from several locations for the foreseeable future. The new company will be named and branded before Jan. 1, 2014.
