Transplace Acquires Canadian Logistics Firm

Transplace, a third-party logistics firm based in Frisco, Texas, with an operations center in Lowell, said Tuesday it has acquired Torus Freight Systems of Canada.

TFS is a logistics services firm focused on Canadian cross-border and intra-Canada freight. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Acquiring Torus, a leading Canadian 3PL, continues our expansion through strategic acquisition,” Transplace CEO Tom Sanderson said in a news release.

The move accomplishes Transplace’s goal of geographic expansion, he said in the release, and balances its strong presence in Mexico.

The company made its first acquisition in April 2011, when it purchased SCO Logistics, also a non-asset-based third-party logistics firm. Sanderson said at the time the company was looking to make more acquisitions.

Transplace, which generates more than $1.3 billion in annual revenue, was created in 2000 by Lowell-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. and five other trucking companies. J.B. Hunt maintained majority ownership of Transplace until 2009, when private investment firm CI Capital Partners LLC of New York acquired Transplace.

Its Lowell office remains Transplace’s largest operations center, with about 275 of the company’s 550 or so employees. That office mainly serves suppliers to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and counts among its clients such heavyweights as Microsoft Corp., Del Monte Foods and AutoZone.