American Track Services (ATS) has aquired Universal Rail Systems (URS) in Canada. The transaction will also establish a new parent company, North American Rail Solutions.
With the establishment of North American Rail Solutions, the two existing brands will operate under a consolidated umbrella, with ATS serving customers in the United States and URS serving customers in Canada.
ATS and URS will remain focused on quality service while continuing to increase their geographic reach and combining their capabilities to deliver a suite of solutions and services in both countries.
Following this transaction, Thomas Lucario, current CEO of ATS, will serve as CEO for North American Rail Solutions, ATS and URS. Ken Reger will serve as CFO. Tim McMillan will serve as president and COO of URS, lead operations in Canada and will join the board of directors of North American Rail Solutions.
"The creation of North American Rail Solutions, along with the consolidation of American Track Services and Universal Rail Systems will create increased capabilities that are unmatched in the industry," said Thomas Lucario, CEO, ATS. “As a team of proactive experts with unparalleled industry experience, we are able to deliver the largest and most trusted rail services platform in North America. With this acquisition, we can now leverage our combined size and suite of services to support our partners and customers whenever and wherever they need us. The URS team has consistently provided excellent service and have proven themselves as the industry leader in Canada. ATS and URS share a common culture centered on customer service, quality and responsiveness both internally and externally. We are proud to welcome Tim McMillan and the entire URS team into the North American Rail Solutions and American Track Services family."
"We are excited to partner with the ATS team to create the newly formed North American Rail Solutions. Our combined experience, resources and scale will enable us to provide our customers with the highest level of service throughout North America. We very much look forward to this next chapter of growth in our business," said Tim McMillan, president and COO for URS.
ATS acquired URS from an investor group led by TorQuest Partners (TorQuest).
"We are proud of the partnership we have built with the URS management team over the years and wish them continued success in this new chapter with North American Rail Solutions," said TorQuest's Mike Salisbury:
