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In September 2006, Halifax partnered with entrepreneur James Ballengee to acquire Taylor, a leading provider of crude oil transportation services. Â Mr. Ballengee, Taylor's Chief Executive Officer and minority shareholder at the time of the acquisition, was searching for a financial partner to help him buyout the current family stake and grow the business from a family enterprise into the nationwide leader in crude oil logistics. For Halifax, the investment represented an opportunity not only to partner with a successful energy entrepreneur, but also, to acquire an established platform in a key energy infrastructure sector.
In the months following close, Halifax worked closely with Mr. Ballengee and the rest of the Taylor team to strengthen the business' infrastructure in order to support continued growth. These efforts included: hiring a new CFO, controller and accounting support staff, installing a new general ledger and implementing a transportation management system. Additionally, we have supported the aggressive expansion of the Company's fleet, reviewed multiple acquisition candidates, renegotiated key customer contracts and completed a legal/organizational restructuring designed to better align the interests of drivers (who are owner-operators) and the Company, as well as migrating earnings into a flow-through entity.
As part of his transaction rationale, Mr. Ballengee desired to return to his own roots in sales and marketing and trade-in his administrative and managerial duties for a focused business development role. Through a formal search process, Halifax and Mr. Ballengee found a highly qualified executive from within transportation sector, Les Carmichael. The addition of Mr. Carmichael afforded Mr. Ballegnee the opportunity to become the full-time Chief Marketing Officer while Mr. Carmichael focused on his role as CEO of the business. Combining their strengths and training, one in logistics and the other in energy, Mr. Carmichael and Mr. Ballengee are poised for great success. |
