Southern Towing Company Acquires Devall Towing

Memphis, Tenn.-based Southern Towing Company (STC) said Tuesday it has acquired family-owned Devall Towing, in a deal that expands STC’s towing operations into specialty chemical products.

Headquartered in Sulphur, La., Devall is a towboat and barge operator for specialty chemicals along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and Lower Mississippi River, operating 36 towboats and 125 liquid tank barges.

The combination of Devall’s operations with STC’s upriver capabilities allows Devall and STC to provide integrated marine transportation solutions across the Gulf Intracoastal and U.S. inland waterways.

“The acquisition significantly enhances Southern Towing’s Gulf Coast capabilities," said STC’s CEO Ed Grimm. "We look forward to growing our transportation capabilities, while continuing to provide superior service to the customers we are privileged to serve.”

STC, an affiliate of CC Industries (CCI), is one of the nation’s largest transporters of liquid fertilizer and other products along U.S. inland waterways, operating a fleet of 27 towboats and 72 barges, and providing marine transportation services to customers in agriculture and industrial markets.

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• Click here to read Ed Grimm's interview with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News.

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Devall will continue to operate under the Devall brand as a new division of STC, and members of its management team will continue in their current roles.

“The Devall family and team are excited to partner with both Southern Towing and CCI. We believe that the cross-selling opportunities with Southern Towing are extremely compelling, and that CCI’s extensive experience and resources positions Devall for future growth,” said Kenny Devall, COO of Devall, who will continue to lead the company.

Bill Crown, President and Chief Executive Officer of CCI, said, “Devall shares the same core values and vision that we have at STC and CCI. We look forward to building on those shared values to further invest in and grow Devall and STC.”