Ruan Transportation (CCJ Top 250, No. 32) has acquired Grand Rapids, Michigan-based dedicated carrier National Truck Brokers (NTB).

Servicing grocery customers in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Kentucky and Wisconsin with a fleet of more than 235 trucks, NTB will continue to operate independent of the Ruan family of companies and will maintain its name and brand, leadership structure and facility locations. Prior ownership, the Koster family, will transition from the business. 

“My father built this great organization from the ground up, and it is our desire to chart a long and prosperous road ahead for the company,” said Rick Koster, one of Dan Koster’s three sons and chairman of the board for NTB. “Sometimes charting the best path to accelerating progress and sustainability requires taking strategic leaps like joining forces with the right parent company. This agreement with Ruan provides a great opportunity for NTB to continue to grow and provide stability for our team members and customers.”  

Ruan is one of the largest family-owned transportation and logistics companies in the U.S. with extensive experience serving a variety of industries. In the coming months, NTB’s entire fleet of trucks will be replaced by late-model tractors as an enhancement for NTB’s driving team members.

“Growth through acquisition has been relatively uncommon at Ruan, but we have done so selectively when there’s a true, strategic fit and the opportunity to sustain and strengthen relationships with important customers. We’ve found these positive elements at NTB,” said Ruan’s Chief Executive Officer Ben McLean, a member of the third generation of Ruan family leadership. “Both companies were founded by their first truck drivers, Dan Koster and John Ruan, so the two organizations have shared a foundational focus on safety throughout their histories.”

This year has been a banner year for mergers and acquisitions among the country’s largest fleets. There have been 24 deals among CCJ’s Top 250 for-hire carriers since the beginning of June, and 30 Top 250 fleets have struck 32 deals this year.