Kottke Trucking grows with Wayne T Fellows acquisition
Kottke Trucking, an interstate hauler focused on refrigerated and dry van transportation, recently acquired Davenport FL-based Wayne T Fellows, which specializes in refrigerated less-than-truckload and truckload shipping.
With the acquisition, Kottke, which started in 1938, said it will add 43 drivers and 22 non-driving employees in accounting, warehousing, dispatch and its shop.
“We are always looking for ways to better our company and this was a great opportunity to do that,” said Kyle Kottke, co-owner and general manager at Kottke Trucking. “Bringing together the two companies will make a stronger company than the two would be apart. We are excited to have the Wayne T Fellows family join our Kottke Trucking family.”
Tom Fellows, the CEO and GM of Wayne T Fellows and Fellows Truck Brokers who is planning to retire, said he is excited about the deal because of the companies’ similarities.
“The similarities and core values of both companies have led my wife, Sue, and I to believe that we will complement each other very well as we blend together and be able to continue to provide the quality service that customers of both sides have come to know and expect,” he said.
“The entire Fellows family and team are looking forward to joining the Kottke family and the next chapter.”
Donna Fellows-Coffey, chief financial and operating officer at Fellows, echoed the excitement.
“I’ve had the great honor of watching my parents, Tom and Sue, build this company from the ground up, and have been blessed to work alongside them and learn from them each step along the way,” she said. “On behalf of the entire Fellows family, I want to thank every current or former staff member, customer or vendor that has helped us enjoy the success we have and helped the realization of my father’s dream become reality.
“I look forward with hope and anticipation to continuing our family’s fourth generation of trucking tradition as a member of Kottke’s team.”
Kottke, which also acquired the over-the-road division of Walbon & Company in 2016, is expected to maintain operations at its Buffalo Lake MN, Eagan MN and Wildwood FL terminals, in addition to bringing in the Wayne T Fellows terminal sites in Davenport FL and Winter Haven FL.
“I am tremendously proud of my parents and all that they have accomplished, and can’t think of a better family to be blending with than the Kottke’s,” Fellows-Coffey said. “I’d like to think that my grandfather Fred and great-uncle Steve, who taught my Dad the trucking ropes … are standing alongside Duane and Connie Kottke in heaven today, looking down with a smile and toasting to jobs well done.”
