Daseke Inc. of Addison, Texas, and Clayton, Ala.-based Boyd Bros. Transportation announced a merger they say will put them into the top five largest open deck/specialty carriers.

The merger also includes Boyd Bros. companies WTI Transport, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Mid Seven Transportation, Des Moines, Iowa; Boyd Intermodal, and Boyd Logistics.

Don Daseke, CEO of Daseke, will be chairman of the board and Richard Bailey, president of Boyd Bros., will join the Daseke board as vice chairman; Chris Cooper, COO of Boyd Bros., will also join the board. According to Cooper, Boyd Bros. and its companies will remain intact with no personnel changes expected resulting from the merger. 

The two combined companies now offer North American open-deck/specialty coverage, including service into Canada and Mexico. 

“Combined with our other companies, which include Smokey Point Distributing, E.W. Wylie, J. Grady Randolph Inc., and Central Oregon Truck Company, more than 2,000 tractors and 3,600 trailers are available to our customers,” said Daseke. “The combination puts us well into the top five in open-deck/specialty carriers, in terms of vehicle count and revenues."

Daseke bought another flatbed company, Central Oregon Truck Co., just a few months ago.

Boyd Bros. and its companies serve the eastern two-thirds of the country and have service into Mexico with their trailers. 

Bailey also noted that Boyd’s Intermodal group, the first in the country to use specially designed intermodal flatbed rail cars, could benefit other Daseke companies and their customers.