TowTimes.com - Guardian Fleet Services Announces Growth Investment from CHIEF Capital and Acquisition/Merger of Emerald Transportation and Sapp’s Wrecker Service

[TowTimes]

Guardian Fleet Services (Guardian/GFS), has announced that the company has experienced strong growth in the first quarter of 2023 and has begun to expand beyond the State of Florida. The company acquired Emerald Transportation of Pompano Beach, FL, and Sapp’s Wrecker Service of Savannah, GA. In addition, Guardian Fleet Services announced that Chartwell Investments Entrepreneur & Founder Capital (CHIEF Capital) has completed a major growth investment in the company to fund future expansion with financing arranged by Backcast Partners, including Morgan Stanley Private Credit and Source Capital.

Emerald Transportation was started 50 years ago by the Jennings family and is currently run by Jim Jennings. The Emerald Transportation team pride themselves on their commitment to service for many law enforcement agencies in south Florida and commercial customers. With a fleet of 40 pieces of equipment and two locations in Pompano Beach and Boca Raton, Emerald provides all lines of towing and recovery service. Emerald is known for its longevity and cutting-edge approach to safety. Jim will remain as president of Guardian Fleet’s operations in Pompano and Boca Raton.

Sapp’s Wrecker Service has been a family-owned towing provider to the Savannah region since 1953. With a well-known reputation for site clean-ups and traffic management, Sapp’s has established itself as the premier choice for multiple law enforcement agencies and an expert in towing and recovery. Sapp’s is Guardian’s first location outside the state of Florida.

With the addition of Emerald Transportation and Sapp’s Wrecker Service, Guardian now has 23 locations and over 400 pieces of equipment in its fleet, offering service throughout Florida and now Georgia.

“The acquisition of Emerald Transportation and Sapp’s Wrecker Service is part of an exciting and rapid growth plan for Guardian Fleet Services,” said COO, Tom Tedford. “We couldn’t be more excited to have both these teams join the GFS family. The financial backing we have been able to secure with CHIEF Capital and their partners solidifies our plans for continued growth beyond the state of Florida.”

The investment will allow Guardian to accelerate its growth trajectory by expanding its capabilities and geographic footprint throughout the southeast and beyond.

Geoff Russell, co-Founder and CEO of Guardian, said “We found great alignment with CHIEF Capital from a growth, leadership and culture perspective and are thrilled to partner with their team.”

Scotty Crockett, co-founder and president of Guardian, added, “This investment will allow Guardian to continue its aggressive growth and consolidation strategy within Florida and more broadly in the southeast. We are excited to partner with the CHIEF Capital team and their financing partners.”

“Guardian has built an impressive team and a market-leading position with a strong culture of uncompromised professional customer service and exceeding customer requirements and expectations,” said Michael Shein, managing partner of CHIEF Capital. “We are incredibly excited to partner with Geoff Russell, Scotty Crockett and the Guardian team to support its continued rapid growth. The Guardian investment exemplifies our strategy of partnering with entrepreneurs and founder-owned companies to help accelerate their growth plans and we are so pleased to join the Guardian team.”

Joining the Guardian Board will be CHIEF Capital Executive Council Member Gary Kessler, who has deep transportation and logistics experience, previously serving in multiple C-Suite and board roles in the space, as well as Michael Shein, managing partner of CHIEF Capital, and Deepak Sethi, principal of CHIEF Capital.

For more information about GFS contact Hannah O’Shea at hoshea@guardianofthehighways.com or visit guardianfleetservice.com.

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