July 18, 2022

Minneapolis-based True North Equity Partners has acquired Sioux Falls-based Dakotaland Transportation.

Dakotaland is a 48-state contract carrier that was founded in 2000 by brothers Bruce and Jerry Fowlds, originally to provide exclusive transportation for Showplace Wood Products.

Currently, the company hauls a variety of freight, with the majority of its business in windmill transport.

In late 2020, on the verge of retirement, Bruce and Jerry died in an automobile collision, leaving their wives, Shari and Paula Fowlds, to operate the business.

With their own retirements in mind, Shari and Paula decided to sell the business to True North Equity Partners this year, they said in a statement.

“It was attractive to us that True North Equity Partners wanted to keep the company intact and in Sioux Falls, keep the jobs local, keep the Dakotaland name and keep running the company like it’s always been run,” Shari Fowlds said. “The transaction felt like a good fit. We have the same core values, including a family business orientation.”

As part of the deal, Shari and Paula have agreed to continue working at Dakotaland for a few months to ensure a smooth transition. All of the approximately 60 Dakotaland employees have retained their jobs in the transaction.

“It is reassuring to know that the company will keep its local presence and flavor, that all of our employees — some of whom have been with us for two decades — will keep their jobs and that the company will keep the family feel that it has always had,” Paula Fowlds said. “It feels good knowing that the Dakotaland legacy will be preserved.”

True North Equity Partners is a family of independent businesses that span diverse sectors: transportation and logistics, precision manufacturing, distribution, technology, business services, software, hospitality and sports.

The portfolio includes the Sioux Falls Canaries minor league professional baseball team in the sports sector.

In the transportation and logistics sector, the portfolio companies include Contact Cartage, based in Minneapolis; D&A Truckline Inc. and Viking Land Transportation, both based in New Ulm, Minnesota; J-Mar Enterprises, based in West Fargo, North Dakota; Norsemen, based in Lake Mills, Iowa; and Transport Designs, based in Burnsville, Minnesota. The companies, together with more than 15 others in the True North Equity Partners portfolio, generate more than $150 million in annual revenue, the firm said.

“Dakotaland is a great addition to our portfolio of companies, allowing us to reach into South Dakota with the first of our transportation and logistics investments there and to expand the footprint we have already established in the state with the Sioux Falls Canaries,” said Brian Slipka, managing partner at True North Equity Partners. “Along with our other transportation and logistics companies, Dakotaland is enabling us to provide more value for our customers and increase efficiency in our network.”