Adding Command Transportation, one of the nation's largest privately held truckload brokers, to Echo’s logistics business will create a leading provider of technology-enabled transportation management solutions with enhanced scale in the truckload market, says Waggoner.
“Command is a top-notch truckload broker with great people and great leadership, which made it a favored broker among truckload carriers,” he says. “This is a transformational deal that will make Echo stronger in truckload brokerage by giving us more scale and density, which matters in that business.” For now, the company will continue to operate under the Command Transportation name. “We currently are doing a brand equity analysis. Over time we will definitely integrate the two organizations deeply and will make a decision on branding at an appropriate time,” says Waggoner.
Echo has a lot of experience integrating acquisitions, having completed 20 deals to date. The first 19 were smaller trucking companies and Command was the 20th, Waggoner says. “Our strategy has been to look for great organizations that have a strong book of business and a geographic presence that complements ours and that gives us density and scale.”
