WOODBRIDGE, Ont. – GTI Transport Solution has announced it is acquiring Precision Specialized Division, a division of Precision Truck Lines.

Precision Specialized focuses on open-deck and heavy-haul transportation, which are also the specialties of GTI Transport Solution. All employees and managers will be retained, with Ed Bernard continuing to lead the group. He will be president of Precision Specialized, which will relocate to Brantford, Ont.

“Precision Specialized is proud to be joining forces with GTI to propel our company to the next phase of its growth,” Bernard said. “A team of seasoned managers will bring valuable expertise and an injection of fresh capital will enable us to better serve our customers across North America. Moving operations 60 miles to Brantford gives us much needed space for our growing equipment assets.”

“The team at Precision Specialized has demonstrated market leading know-how in quality of service and engineering of complex project driven loads,” added Richard Lafreniere, CEO of GTI. “We firmly believe that blending their expertise with the broad footprint of GTI will enable us to drive growth and become the preferred open-deck/heavy haul transportation company in North America.”

Ravi Annand, vice-president and CFO of Precision Truck Lines, said the move will enable the company to focus on its core activities in the truckload and LTL transborder segments.

Frederick Perrault, senior partner of Novacap, the private equity owner of GTI, said the acquisition fits into GTI’s strategic plan to expand its geographic reach and capabilities.

“Combined with the launch of GTI USA in 2018 and other acquisitions in the pipeline, we are very enthusiastic about the group’s future,” he said.