Charles L. Hammel, Jr. formed Pitt-Ohio Express in 1979 for his three sons. A separate company was, also, formed for the benefit of Mr. Hammel’s three daughters, which provided capital for equipment and facilities. The Company began operations with three trucks and one philosophy – to provide quality transportation services, while offering a challenging and rewarding career opportunity for motivated individuals. The vision and philosophy worked well. By 2003, the Company had grown to over $200 million in revenue, serving a broad customer base of over 8,000 companies from 20 terminals, and operating 591 tractors, 1,478 trailers and 315 straight trucks. Pitt-Ohio had earned significant industry recognition for providing outstanding customer service and on-time performance, and for its safety record. The Company had been a recipient of the American Trucking Association’s "President’s Trophy" and was a perennial recipient of the "Quest for Quality" award from Logistics Management and Distribution Magazine.

Several times, since 1991, Source Capital, Ltd. provided financial advisory or corporate finance services for Pitt-Ohio. We assisted with matters relating to inter-family shareholder agreements, negotiating terms and conditions for senior debt agreements, and assisted in adding lenders to the Company’s credit pool, as its working capital needs increased along with its growth.

As often occurs with successful, family-owned companies, by 2003, some of the Pitt-Ohio shareholders wished to pursue other interests and to obtain liquidity on their holdings. At the same time, the Company had a need for additional growth capital to fuel its ongoing expansion plans. Careful analysis was required to determine how to structure a credit facility that would provide funds for shareholder liquidity while, also, assuring adequate growth capital. Further, as the Hammel Family wished to retain 100% ownership and control, a syndicate of lenders would have to be organized to share credit risk. Once again, Pitt-Ohio selected Source Capital, Ltd. as its financial advisor. Once again, Source Capital, Ltd. delivered, on-time results for a satisfied customer.