BELTON, Mo. — Fleet vehicle safety company Safe Fleet has purchased Merlot Vango Tarping Solutions, a provider of rolling tarpaulin systems for flatbed and platform trailers.
Merlot Vango Tarping Solutions designs, manufactures, installs and services rolling tarpaulin systems and replacement parts.
In business for more than 60 years, “Merlot has set an industry standard in helping protect and secure valuable cargo and minimize risks to drivers and roadways with tarpaulin solutions,” according to a news release. “Merlot Vango Tarping Solutions is a premium brand with a long-standing reputation. Its Vango rolling tarp systems are the most functional, most durable, easiest-to-operate and simplest to maintain systems on America’s highways, making it a natural fit within Safe Fleet Commercial Vehicle Group’s existing tarp system portfolio that includes automated and semi-automated system brands such as Roll-Rite and Pulltarps.”
John R. Knox, Safe Fleet chairman and CEO, called Merlot a great fit for his company’s existing tarping business.
The acquisition will add “breadth to our product portfolio to serve a key commercial vehicle market segment,” he said. “Their innovative products combined with exceptional installation and aftermarket parts and service support will add to the Safe Fleet value proposition for commercial vehicle fleets and operators.”
Merlot Vango is located in Verona, Pa., just outside of Pittsburgh, and the existing leadership team will continue to manage the business post-acquisition, the news release noted.
“We are excited to join Safe Fleet,” said Robert Schwab, president of Merlot Vango Tarping Solutions. “With Safe Fleet’s investment in the Merlot platform, we will continue to enhance our industry leading service to fleets and dealers while expanding our geographic reach.”
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
