Spokane-based Produce Supply Express Inc. has been acquired by a Blaine, Washington-based competitor.

Kam-Way Transportation Inc. is now operating Produce Supply Express as its subsidiary, says Lom Hutchins. Previously vice president of Produce Supply Express, Hutchins has taken on the role of general manager of the Spokane subsidiary, since his family sold the company to Kam-Way. He declines to disclose the terms of the transaction.

Hutchins says he has had a friendship with Kam-Way founder and CEO Kam Sihota for a few years, since Sihota reached out to discuss starting a Spokane branch. 

“We love the Spokane area, and we see it as a growing hub,” says Sihota.  

Kam-Way acquired Spokane-based trucking company Rees Enterprises Inc. in 2019, Sihota says. 

Hutchins and Sihota began negotiating terms of the sale of Produce Supply Express in April, Hutchins says. 

“Initially, he was going to rent some land from me, and then he offered to buy our business,” Hutchins says.

That includes the Produce Supply Express 12,000-square-foot facility at 4411 S. Grove and 58 trailers.

Rees Enterprises will share the Produce Supply Express terminal in Spokane as its second operating location. Its first location, at the former Rees Enterprises headquarters, is located at 2919 S. Geiger Blvd.

All of Produce Supply Express’s 45 employees have been retained, Hutchins says. 

The acquisition will enable the Produce Supply Express operation, which will retain its name, to grow more quickly and to receive more administrative support.

Produce Supply Express’s annual revenue has grown at a steady rate, Hutchins says, totaling about $10 million in 2021.

Founded in 1972, Produce Supply Express primarily hauls beverages, as well as some frozen and dry grocery goods.

Sihota says Kam-Way, founded in 2008, is in growth mode, and has its eyes on expansion into the Boise, Phoenix, and Southern California areas next. The truck line and brokerage services company has branch terminals in Sumner, Washington; Fresno, California; Nogales, Arizona; and Surrey, British Columbia. 

Kam-Way’s shipments include produce, refrigerated, frozen, and dry grocery goods, electronics, and construction equipment. It has 325 employees—including those at Produce Supply Express—and 140 vehicles, as well as more than 600 trailers.