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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2022
Ascend Announces Launch
As Dry Van, Full Truckload Carrier
Joins Forces with Milan Supply Chain Solutions and J&B Services
30-year industry veteran
Michael McLary named CEO
ATLANTA, GA –
(January 10, 2022) – Ascend
LLC (Ascend) today announced its launch as a dry van, full truckload carrier
that brings high-performance service and reliability to the rapidly expanding
middle-mile market. Ascend and its affiliates will focus on the customers’ needs in the retail, fast-moving consumer goods,
packaging, and industrial supply sectors with exacting service requirements.
These businesses typically require products to be shipped regionally and
quickly.
Ascend also
announced the appointment of Michael McLary, a 30-year industry veteran of UPS
and Amazon, as CEO. McLary will lead the management team supported by a board
of directors comprised of senior industry executives with over 150 years of
combined experience from Amazon, FedEx, and UPS.
Formed by the
merger and integration of Milan Supply Chain Solutions, based in Jackson,
Tennessee, and J&B Services, based in Pontotoc, Mississippi, Ascend is
supported by key leaders to the combined management team. Ascend is
backed by Wellspring Capital Management Group LLC (“Wellspring”), a leading
middle-market private equity firm committed to investing in the company’s
strategy and growth plans.
“Shippers are placing large
warehouses close to urban locations, which increases the need for regional
service to connect supply-chain nodes, which is our focus,” said McLary.
“The company has built a robust and reliable network with the density to
support planned and unplanned customer needs in the South, Midwest, and
Mid-Atlantic regions. Our goal is to transform the regional truckload
sector by leveraging technology, building density and offering driver-friendly
routes and policies. We have created a company that will be the carrier of
choice to customers by providing the most reliable and predictable service and
will be the trusted partner in the transportation sector.”
Naishadh Lalwani,
a partner at Wellspring, added: “We are thrilled to partner with Michael and
the rest of the Ascend team to offer differentiated solutions to our customer
base who place their trust in us. We look forward to supporting the company as
it executes its aggressive organic and acquisitive growth plan to be a leading
regional truckload carrier. Ascend’s leaders have designed the business with
today’s market realities in mind, including a nationwide driver shortage and
growing supply chain complexity as shippers seek to satisfy the
ever-heightening consumer expectations. Ascend addresses these needs with
innovative planning and dispatch methodologies that provide the flexibility
required.”
Ascend launch
Finding drivers is also a key
aspect of the Ascend set of solutions. Designing its planning and
dispatch operations around the lifestyle desires of drivers enables Ascend to
become the employer of choice for drivers seeking a better work-life balance.
This is accomplished by designing routes that make it possible for drivers to
sleep at home whenever possible. Ascend has adopted several progressive,
driver-friendly policies to ensure it can attract and retain the very best
personnel in the business, including guaranteed, top-quartile pay.
McLary continued, “With a
nationwide trend of unfilled driver positions, Ascend offers progressive
employee policies that help us retain a sufficient number of high-quality
drivers who provide the high standard of service shippers should expect of
their carrier.”
In addition to
its large and growing asset-based operation, Ascend has established substantial
truckload brokerage services. The brokerage offering complements the company’s
asset operations by providing expanded capacity, broader coverage, and
specialized options such as temperature-controlled and flatbed vehicles while
ensuring premium service levels. Pairing this flexible network capacity with
Ascend’s large and broadly staged trailer fleet and its power-only options
results in distinctive array of services well-matched to our customers’ needs.
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About Ascend
Ascend provides
customers with logistics services in coordination with its affiliates Ascend
LLC, Ascend Transportation LLC, Ascend Trucking LLC, and Ascend Distribution
LLC. The company has operations in the South, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest,
with density and capacity in important regional areas where there is high
demand for high-performance short-haul shipping, serving the truckload shipping
needs of customers in the retail, fast-moving consumer goods, packaging, and
industrial supply sectors. For further information, visit ascend.net.
About
Wellspring Capital
Wellspring
Capital Management is a leading private equity firm headquartered in New York.
Since its founding in 1995, Wellspring has raised over $4.5 billion of initial
capital commitments through six private equity funds. In total, Wellspring's
current portfolio companies employ nearly 60,000 people around the world and
generated aggregate revenues in excess of approximately $4.5 billion in the
last 12 months.¹ Over the past 25 years, Wellspring has invested in over 45
platform investments across various segments of the U.S. and global economies.
Wellspring’s objective is to bring partnership, experience, and value creation
to each investment. By teaming up with strong management, Wellspring seeks to
unlock underlying value and pursue new growth opportunities through strategic
initiatives, operating improvements, and add-on acquisitions. The firm
functions as a strategic partner, providing management teams with top-line
support, M&A experience, financial expertise, and access to resources. For
additional information, please visit WellspringCapital.com.
1 - As of 12/31/2020