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February 16, 2015
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Former XPO Chief Executive is Back in the Game at Magnate Worldwide
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The new entity has been established as a holding company to pursue acquisitions in the international freight forwarding and North American expedited transportation markets.
As many of our readers know, Welch has been a major player in expedited trucking. He started Express-1 in 1989 with two trucks and grew it into one of the top freight expediter firms in the nation before selling the company to Segmentz in 2004. About a year later, Express-1 was rebranded as XPO Logistics, and Welch continued to lead the company as CEO through 2011. With Welch at the helm, XPO grew from $40 million in revenues in 2005 to over $177 million in 2011, when he negotiated the sale of the company to Jacobs Private Equity.
Today, Welch and his team at Magnate Worldwide are actively reaching out to business owners in expedited transportation.
What exactly is Magnate Worldwide looking for in a potential acquisition partner?
“By ‘asset light,’ we mean that we focus on companies in the expedite or premium freight market that are comprised primarily of owner-operators, versus company-owned trucks,” Welch explains. “We’re not going to shy away if the company has a 125 units and owns 20 of them. We would still consider that ‘asset-light.’ But we certainly would want the majority of those units to be owner-operators."
At least initially, Magnate is seeking companies with over 100 units leased. “We’ll start looking for smaller companies once we have a solid large ‘platform’ company in place," says Welch.
Welch says his team is also looking for “a solid safety rating, good profitability, and history of consistent growth.”
The company’s culture is an important consideration, as well. “We look for enthusiastic people,” says Welch. “We look for owners who want to stay on and have fun growing their business. We want to have an atmosphere that we’re all in this together — to grow a very solid company in the future.”
A key benefit to Magnate partners is that they can consolidate their back-office operations (for weekend dispatch, safety management, receivable collections, etc.), which reduces their operational costs, while freeing them up to focus on their customer-facing operations that grow sales and profits.
Welch says the company hopes to make three to four acquisitions in the North American expedite transportation and international logistics markets by the end of the year.
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January 13, 2015
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Mike Welch Back on Top
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Stevensville's Mike Welch is back at the helm of a firm engaged in the transportation and logistics business he knows so well. He has assumed the presidency of Magnate Worldwide based in Oakbrook, Illinois. His expertise in the world of logistics will undoubtedly pay substantial dividends going forward.
Welch was the President & Founder of Express-1 of Niles and St. Joseph, a logistics team that started in 1989 with two trucks and the determination to become the best freight expediter in the nation. His leadership at the helm of the North American start-up ground expediter led to unparalleled 15-to-20-percent growth year over year as he grew the business into a $25-million powerhouse in the industry.
In 2004 Welch successfully orchestrated the sale of the company to Segmentz and stayed on as company President for another year before changing the name to Express-1 Expedited Solutions or simply XPO. Between 2005 and 2011 as CEO at XPO, Mike led the firm to multiple key acquisitions of a number of smaller logistics firms, and started a new one called Bounce Logistics. During that span the company grew from $40-million in revenues to in excess of $177-million, greatly enhancing the shareholder value of the publicly owned company. In 2011 he successfully negotiated the sale of XPO to a private equity firm, Jacobs Private Equity.
Mike later became a partner in the Chicago-based investment firm of Magnate Capital Partners.
This week, Magnate Capital joined CIVC Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, in formation of Magnate Worldwide. Welch has been tabbed as President of Magnate Worldwide, which has been established as a holding company to pursue acquisitions in the transportation and logistics industry. Each of the partners will contribute the capital necessary to build a premier, asset-light, transportation and logistics company focused on the international freight forwarding and North American expedited transportation markets.
In addition to providing the capital support, Welch and two other Magnate Capital Partners teammates will hold senior management positions. Dan Para, who has also successfully built logistics and transportation companies will be the CEO, while Frank Shinnick of Magnate Capital becomes the Chief Financial Officer at Magnate Worldwide.
Mike joined Dan Para in issuing a statement regarding their new roles, saying, "As we enter the next phase of our careers, we knew that forming an allegiance with the right financial partner would be crucial to our continued success. We believe that CIVC's investment experience and cultural compatibility made them the ideal financial partner for us." CIVC has been targeting the transportation and logistics sector for investment for several years, and spent a considerable amount of time studying the industry to develop a deep network of industry contacts.
John Compall is a partner at CIVC. He says, "We feel that the opportunity to partner with the senior management team of Magnate provides a rare and exciting opportunity to build a leading platform in the sector."
Welch and the crew at Magnate Worldwide will actively reach out to business owners in the freight forwarding and North American expedited transportation markets to become part of the platform. They are excited to create a market-leading company that will provide clients with a comprehensive suite of solutions and unmatched customer service. More information can be found in the link to the new company below.
Welch has a strong record of community service in the neighborhood as well, having served as President of the Lake Michigan College Foundation, Board President of the Niles-Buchanan YMCA, Board President of the Southwest Michigan Economic Growth Alliance, Chair of the Campaign for the United Way of Southwest Michigan, Vice-President of the Lakeshore Public Schools Board of Education, President of the Chemical Bank-SW Michigan Board of Directors, and a marketing instructor at Southwestern Michigan College. He was also named the South Bend Transportation Club Person of the Year.
Mike and his wife Lisa and their children live in Stevensville.
Here's the link to the new corporation: http://www.magnateworldwide.com
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January 13, 2015
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Magnate Worldwide Hires President of International Logistics
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Former President of Weiss-Rohlig USA Joins Growing Team
 Magnate Worldwide (MWW), a new holding company in the transportation and logistics industry, is pleased to announce the hiring of Thomas Gilgen as the president of the international logistics division.
With more than 15 years of industry experience, Gilgen has worked for Weiss-Rohlig USA, Coca-Cola Switzerland and Panalpina AG.
“Thomas brings a very diverse background to Magnate Worldwide,” said Dan Para, CEO of MWW. “He has the right kind of international experience to execute our vision of creating a premier international freight forwarding company. We’re excited to see the impact of his leadership here.”
Most recently, Gilgen served as the president of Weiss-Rohlig USA headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. He spent a decade at Weiss-Rohlig, working his way up from ocean freight supervisor to president in that time. Under his leadership, Weiss-Rohlig USA doubled revenue from $90 million to $200 million. He also merged multiple freight forwarding companies and one customs broker into Weiss-Rohlig USA.
Previously, Gilgen was an international traffic manager at Coca-Cola Switzerland and an import airfreight manager at Panalpina AG in Bern Switzerland.
He earned business and administration degrees in Bern, Switzerland, from the Dr. Rischik Education Center and the Higher College of Commerce. He’s fluent in German and English, and can also speak French and Italian.
“I’m thrilled to join this exciting new company,” Thomas Gilgen said. “Dan and Mike are proven savvy industry veterans, and I really believe in what they’re building here.”
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January 5, 2015
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Magnate Capital Partners and CIVC Partners Announce Formation of Magnate Worldwide
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Magnate Capital Partners (“MCP”) and CIVC Partners L.P. (“CIVC”) are pleased to announce the formation of Magnate Worldwide (“MWW”). The new entity has been established as a holding company to pursue acquisitions in the transportation and logistics industry. Both CIVC and the partners of MCP will contribute the capital necessary to build a premier asset-light transportation and logistics company focused on the international freight forwarding and North American expedited transportation markets.
In addition to providing capital support, three partners of MCP will be joining MWW in senior management positions. Dan Para and Mike Welch, who have each built successful logistics and transportation companies, will be the Chief Executive Officer and President, respectively. Frank Shinnick will be Chief Financial Officer. “As we enter the next phase of our careers, we knew that forming an allegiance with the right financial partner would be crucial to our continued success. We believe that CIVC’s investment experience and cultural compatibility made them the ideal financial partner for us,” stated Dan Para and Mike Welch. CIVC has been targeting the transportation and logistics sector for investment for several years. The firm has spent a considerable amount of time studying the industry and developing a deep network of industry contacts. “We feel that the opportunity to partner with the senior management team of Magnate provides a rare and exciting opportunity to build a leading platform in the sector,” said John Compall, a Partner at CIVC.
With this announcement, MWW will be actively reaching out to business owners in the freight forwarding and North American expedited transportation markets to become part of the MWW platform. The MWW executives and CIVC are excited to create a market-leading company that will provide clients with a comprehensive suite of solutions and unmatched customer service.
If you have an interest in better understanding MWW’s acquisition criteria and business plan, please visit www.magnateworldwide.com or contact Dan Para (dpara@magnateworldwide.com) or Mike Welch (mwelch@magnateworldwide.com).
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