Milan Express sale 'bittersweet' for founder Tommy Ross

MILAN Express has partnered with HCI Equity Partners in order to take advantage of expansion opportunities and enhance its ability to grow, announced founder and Chairman of the Board Tommy Ross. Ross said the company is rebranding itself as MILAN Supply Chain Solutions to better reflect its overall services.

The day-to-day operations of the company, however, will stay the same.

"Jeff Stinson, John Ross and I, along with our management team, will continue to run the business on a day-to-day basis and work hard to ensure our future success," said Ross. "Both Jeff and John have significant ownership in the new company. Our goal is to grow MILAN over the next decade while still offering our customers the same great level of service we offer them today."

Ross, 84, said the change of pace was bittersweet for him after spending his entire career overseeing the operations.

"This is the only thing I've known for 47 years," explained Ross.

"I went to bed and woke up every day thinking about MILAN Express, and that's going to change a little now," he said. "But at my age, it's time for me to let go of some of this stuff."

Ross said he intends to continue coming to work every day.

"I don't care a thing about retiring," he said. "I've got to have a place to go. Anyway, Thelma might not like me at home all the time," he joked about his bride of 59 years.

Ross began his career in trucking at the age of 17, and founded MILAN Express in 1969 with two trailers, one truck and one employee.

Ross says this new chapter of MILAN Express will be great for the company.

"This partnership is sweet for the company and its employees because it's a tremendous opportunity to grow and add new jobs," he said. "HCI owns eight or 10 other transportation and supply chain firms. With the capacity we have now, we can handle any size load that comes our way. This is going to be a good thing for the company and the community."

Ross said he was proud of the reputation his company had built, and was happy the company will keep its name.

"The name Milan meant a lot to HCI, so you'll still see our trucks up and down the road and that means a lot to me," he said.

According to Stinson, who became president and CEO when the deal closed on Sept. 19, HCI and MILAN Express make a perfect team.

"HCI will allow us to maintain our culture and family atmosphere while providing the resources and capabilities necessary to take the company to the next level," he said. "We have a lot in common with the partners at HCI. We're going to grow and take on new business and we will be expanding and adding jobs in both Milan and Jackson. Our business is stronger than ever the last few months, and our partnership with HCI will allow us to better capitalize on those opportunities," he said last Friday.

Stinson said to keep up with demand, MILAN Express leased an additional 125,000 square feet of warehouse space last week, and will start construction on a new 200,000-square-foot distribution center in Jackson this fall.

The Ross family will retain the property they already own, which includes 530,000 square feet of warehouse space in Milan and Jackson.

Stinson said MILAN would expand on a model of success already in place.

"After a few lean years, MILAN has emerged stronger than ever and has experienced record earnings over the last two years. HCI is a very skilled group of investors and they saw an opportunity for a good return on their investment," explained Stinson.

"That's why they placed so much value on our company. With John and I continuing to have ownership in the company, we have skin in the game and we'll be running the business for them," he said.

John Ross will serve as the company's president of transportation services. HCI Equity Partners is a private equity firm which invests in growth oriented industrial product and service companies. HCI targets investments in companies with a strong management team where it believes the firm has a unique competitive advantage. HCI is invested in both Industrial (approximately 60%) and Transportation & Logistics (40%). MILAN will be a Portfolio Company, joining Roadrunner Transportation Systems, Inc. (Cudahy, WI); HVH Transportation (Denver, CO) and Southern Ag Carriers (Albany, GA).