Indy-based logistics firm DCL expects acquisition to fuel growth

Two Indianapolis-based companies have combined to form a third-party transportation and logistics business that plans major growth over the next year.

Direct Connect Logisticx, or DCL, said it expects its acquisition of Hoosier Logistics to “fuel future growth and lead to more opportunities for our workforce.”

Financial terms of the deal, which closed March 31 and was announced Tuesday, were not disclosed.

DCL, based at 314 W. Michigan Road, is a 13-year-old company with about 150 local employees.

The addition of Hoosier Logistics, 155 E. Market St., which has 70 employees, boosts local employment to 220.

DCL said it expects to add another 100 employees over the next year.

DCL, owned by Detroit-based private equity firm Huron Capital, is a third-party logistics business that offers transportation services to clients of all sizes. It has a strategic focus on temperature-controlled, time- and condition-critical market segments, including food, grocery and beverage.

Hoosier Logistics, founded in 2015 by CEO Rob Likens and Chief Operating Officer Nick Likens, specializes in asset-light, temperature-controlled transportation services for the food, beverage and related industries.

The Likens will help lead an expansion plan for DCL’s brokerage operations. Nick Likens has joined DCL’s executive management team and Rob Likens will lead the asset-based truckload services division.

“We will immediately gain scale and resources from this transaction and will benefit from Hoosier’s roster of blue-chip food and beverage customers,” said DCL CEO Richard Piontek in written comments. “We look forward to integrating Hoosier’s experienced management team into our operations and expect the combination will strengthen our service offerings, broaden our customer base and set the stage for our continuing North American expansion.”

The acquisition is the second for DCL in a matter of a few weeks. The company acquired Draper, Utah-based Performance Logistics, a cold-food-chain-focused freight brokerage with 30 employees, in mid-February.