Ascend makes its formal entrance into the truckload market

A new player has entered the truckload market this week, in the form of an Atlanta-based dry van, full truckload carrier, entitled Ascend.

Ascend’s primary focus, according to company officials, will be on serving shippers in various verticals, including the consumer goods, packaging, and industrial supply chain, which, they added, usually require products to be shipped quickly and regionally, coupled with what the company called “exacting service requirements.” The company also has truckload brokerage services, complimenting its asset-based operations by offering expanded capacity, broader coverage, and specialized options in the form of temperature-controlled and flatbed vehicles, coupled by what Ascend called “premium service levels.”

Ascend came to fruition through the merger and subsequent integration of Jackson, Tenn.-based Milan Supply Chain Solutions and Potonoc, Miss.-based J&B Services (Milan acquired J&B in October 2018), a regional transportation and logistics services provider. At the time of that deal, Milan had a network comprised of more than 400 drivers, utilizing a fleet of company-owned, late model tractors and trailers, serving shippers in the lighting, furniture, food, and automotive sectors.

Ascend has financial backing from middle-market private equity firm Wellspring, saying that Wellspring will be investing in Ascend’s strategy and growth initiatives.

The company will be led by its CEO Michael McLary, a 30-year logistics veteran, with previous executive roles for both UPS and Amazon. Ascend said McMary will oversee the company’s management team, which is supported by a company board of directors with more than 150 combined years of experience at UPS, FedEx, and Amazon.

In an interview, McLary provided LM with an overview of Ascend, in terms of its goals and objectives and what led up to this week’s formal company launch.

“We saw a market need and launched Ascend with the merger and integration of Milan Supply Chain Solutions, based in Jackson, Tennessee, and J&B Services, based in Pontotoc, Mississippi,” he said. “We are backed by Wellspring Capital Management Group LLC, a leading middle-market private equity firm. We created Ascend to meet the growing needs in the middle-mile market to address driver shortages, balance current market dynamics and ever-changing consumer behavior. Our vision is to transform the regional truckload sector by leveraging technology, building density, and offering driver-friendly routes and policies. Ascend has been in the works since October 2019 and became official on January 1, 2022. We are now in the process of rebranding the companies to Ascend.”

As for the company’s goals, in terms of serving shippers, McLary explained that the company’s goal is to become the most reliable, predictable, and trusted partner in the transportation sector. 

“We provide high-performance short-haul shipping and are currently serving the truckload shipping needs of customers in the retail, fast-moving consumer goods, packaging, and industrial supply sectors,” he said. “We differentiate our services with reliable service and a primary focus on dry van in tightly focused geographies.”

Ascend’s entrance into the market comes at a time when the truckload space is very competitive, and capacity remains very tight.  

Those challenges aside, McLary noted that the company has a firm plan to transform the regional truckload sector—through leveraging technology, building density, and offering driver-friendly routes and policies—efforts which he said will make Ascend the carrier of choice for shippers that demand high performance and flexibility at competitive rates, and the employer of choice for drivers seeking a better work-life balance.

“With the technology we have employed, we are able to build better routes and predict freight in the future,” he said. “That helps us reduce dead-heads, keep our miles down and create job opportunities. Drivers are key to our success. They are our most important asset. We want to be the carrier of choice for drivers seeking a better employer. We offer progressive employee policies and top-quartile pay. We have designed our planning and dispatch operations around the lifestyle desires of our drivers, enabling them to have a better work-life balance. This includes designing routes that make it possible for our drivers to sleep at home whenever possible.” 

In terms of assets, McLary said that Ascend currently has 775 trucks and 2,270 trailers and more than 1,200 full-time employed drivers. He declined to disclose how many customers the company has.

Wellspring partner Naishadh Lalwani said in a statement that Wellspring looks forward to supporting Ascend, as the company executes its aggressive organic and acquisitive growth plan to be a leading regional truckload carrier.

“Ascend’s leaders have designed the business with today’s market realities in mind, including a nationwide driver shortage and growing supply chain complexity as shippers seek to satisfy the ever-heightening consumer expectations,” said Lalwani. “Ascend addresses these needs with innovative planning and dispatch methodologies that provide the flexibility required.”