Daseke Inc., of Addison, Texas, announced earlier this week it has merged with Hornady Transportation. The move follows on the heels of an earlier merger with Bulldog Hiway Express, which merged with Daseke in July.

Daseke is the largest owner of flatbed, open-deck and specialty trucking capacity in North America with more than 3,000 tractors and 6,000 trailers.

Hornady Transportation of Monroeville, Alabama, which has a terminal in Birmingham, operates a fleet of 230 tractors and 325 flatbed trailers. The company operates east of the Rocky Mountains primarily supporting the building products and steel industries. Hornady Transportation was founded by G.E. Hornady in 1928, later led by B.C. Hornady and is now in its third generation of leadership under Chris Hornady.

“We are excited to join forces with Daseke, because our philosophies are a mirror image,” said Chris Hornady. “We will grow with our existing management team while having access to all of the assets of Daseke. Our combined group purchasing power will make us much more efficient and competitive in the marketplace. We’re also looking forward to sharing best practices and learning from the other operating companies.”

Hornady joins a Daseke team that includes Smokey Point Distributing, E.W. Wylie, J. Grady Randolph, Central Oregon Truck Company, Lone Star Transportation, Bulldog Hiway Express and the Boyd Companies.

“We continue to grow with elite flatbed and specialty carriers,” said Don Daseke, CEO and chairman of Daseke. “Hornady is a well-regarded, third-generation family business with an enviable safety record. It’s exciting to have them on board.”

Hornady was recently honored with the Alabama Trucking Associations Engineers Award for its commitment to driver safety and a safe work environment.