3PL news: NFI acquires Maersk subsidiary the Gilbert Company

Less than three months after acquiring World Warehouse and Distribution, Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based NFI, an asset-based third-party logistics (3PL) services provider said this week it has brought Maersk subsidiary the Gilbert Company into the fold.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Gilbert has six facilities in the Inland Empire region of California, with four facilities in Chino and one Santa Fe and one in Mira Loma. NFI officials said that with these new locations the company now has 7 million square-feet in warehouse space in this region, which includes its own facilities in Chino, Ontario and Perris, California.

“We wanted to expand our role on the West Coast, particularly in the Inland Empire in which we already had significant operations,” an NFI spokesman told LM. “The region is within a reasonable distance from the Port of Los Angeles, a major port for cargo, and has the necessary elements to grow our business; property is affordable, it’s close to major arteries and there is a good workforce in the region.” 

The acquisition enhances NFI capabilities in the apparel and footwear market and adds to the company’s ability to service the retail sector and expand supply chain services across the country, particularly with store delivery operations, according to the spokesman.  

NFI’s strength in the Inland Empire—combined with the strong transportation services and distribution network in the West that it acquired—will help the company better serve all its customers.  The spokesman added that NFI will now be able to serve the entire U.S. out of California for some of its customers. 

Another benefit of this deal is that it provides NFI with “contracts and expertise in apparel and shoewear, both of which are fairly new to the company, as well as store delivery operations which requires the deconsolidation and consolidation of apparel and shoes,” the spokesman said.

NFI officials declined to disclose how many customers Gilbert had prior to the acquisition.

Through the acquisition, NFI has added about 200 fulltime employees representing the majority of former Gilbert staff.

“Every expansion of our services and facilities enables our company to grow and improve our ability to service our customers across the supply chain spectrum,” said Sid Brown, Chief Executive Officer of NFI, in a statement. “The combination of organic growth and a series of strategic acquisitions over the past decade has enabled us to strengthen our position through the expansion of our geographic footprint, the addition of warehouse and transportation assets and the attraction of talented personnel.”