By Freightwaves.com
with
Ted Cohen/Patch.com
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Vermont-based LandAir, a a trucking company with a rocky past that the feds once grounded due to widespread safety violations, is out of business.
Employees say they were blindsided when they were fired without notice.
Find out what's happening in Portlandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Truck drivers were notified the company would no longer be picking up freight.
The 54-year-old trucking company had only recently been taken off the road by federal authorities due to rampant safety violations.
The company had 135 drivers and 148 trucks, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website.
The company, originally called Allied Air Freight, was founded by Fred Spencer in 1968 and run until recently by his sons.
The company had terminals in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Massachusetts.
LandAir’s website says the hazmat-licensed hauler had 450 employees at its 11 service centers in the U.S., as well as terminals in Ottawa and Toronto, Canada.
Just weeks ago the company announced it was expanding its service to New Jersey, as well as Long Island and New York City.
While the company has yet to issue a formal statement regarding its closure, a former LandAir employee, who spoke to FreightWaves on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the news that the company had shuttered operations.
Another source familiar with the situation at LandAir said the company had “laid off its entire sales force and client services” employees, but was unsure how many employees that was.
William M. Keresey III, chief executive officer of LandAir, did not respond to FreightWaves’ requests seeking comment about the closure.
Yet Keresey was on LinkedIn praising the company former "safety director" for allegedly doing "a great job."
The firm was controlled by private equity firm Corbel Capital Partners, headquartered in Los Angeles. Brian Yoon, principal of Corbel Capital Partners, did not return FreightWaves’ request seeking comment.
The Northeast-based carrier, formerly known as Land Air Express of New England, was forced to briefly shut down in December 2015 after the "less-than-truckload" (LTL) carrier failed to submit an acceptable corrective action plan to the FMCSA after receiving an unsatisfactory safety rating following an audit.
In early January 2016, the company reopened after announcing a joint partnership with New Hampshire-based North East Freightways and submitting a safety-management plan.
But it wasn't enough.
What happened?
Curtis Garrett, chief strategy officer of Reconex, headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, said sources told him that LandAir’s private-equity firm made the decision to shutter the LTL carrier.
Garrett, who works with LTL carriers, shippers and strategic partners, said he was surprised by the decision to close one of the largest LTL carriers serving the northeast.
However, he said private-equity-owned companies are concerned about the transportation market and the economy and “want a return on their investment at some point.”
In the wake of the company going out of business, a competing freight hauler extended job offers throughout social media to former Land Air drivers.
"To all LandAir drivers," said a message posted online from Quality Carriers. "Due to the recent closing of LandAir, QC is offering an additional $2,000 bonus (total $12,000 sign-on bonus) to all former LandAir drivers that join QC during this challenging time.
"Additionally, QC will honor your current seniority, vacation days and pay schedule you are currently receiving at LandAir unless our current pay package in Florence, VT is more than you are currently making, in which case you will receive the higher of the two."
