Otter Tail Corp. announced it has sold its Fargo, ND-based trucking business, E.W. Wylie, to Walden Smokey Point Inc., a holding company based in Dallas, TX. Walden’s operating company, Smokey Point Distributing, is a leader in flatbed/heavy haul trucking based in the Pacific Northwest.
E.W Wylie will continue to be operated independently, according to a company announcement. Founded in 1938, E.W. Wylie specializes in flatbed trucking and trucking logistics with service lanes running within the 48 contiguous states as well as Alaska and Canada.
Wylie specializes in moving fabricated steel, agriculture machinery, tubing, construction equipment, as well as oil gas industry components. Wylie will continue to operate from its primary terminal in West Fargo. The fleet has other terminals in Denver, CO, and Tyler, TX.
“This is a great outcome for both Otter Tail Corp. and Walden Smokey Point,” said Otter Tail Corp. Interim CEO Edward J. “Jim” McIntyre. “It is consistent with our stated strategy of realigning our business portfolio, while also adding value to Walden Smokey Point’s complementary interests in the transportation field.”
Don R. Daseke, CEO of Walden Smokey Point, Inc., added, “This transaction will enable us to leverage the considerable industry expertise that exists between our flatbed/heavy haul trucking business, Smokey Point Distributing, and that of E.W. Wylie. Smokey Point and Wylie will work together to better serve all customers.”
Smokey Point Distributing (SPD) specializes in the handling of large, irregular and difficult to transport cargo and aerospace parts, as well as less-than-truckload (LTL), truckload (TL) and general commodities transportation. SPD has one of the largest fleets in the nation of retractable curtain vans in both flatbed and step deck trailers, according to the announcement. The fleet was founded in 1979 and currently operates out of a primary terminal located in Arlington, WA, just north of Seattle with other terminals in Pomona, CA, Wichita, KS and Charleston, SC.
