A Wilmington-based distribution firm is buying a transportation company, according to a news release.

PolyQuest Inc. officials announced Wednesday their company will acquire Baker Transportation Inc. (BTI) and should close on the transaction Oct. 1, the release stated. The financial details were not disclosed.

PolyQuest distributes thermoplastic resin. In addition to its Wilmington headquarters, PolyQuest has facilities in Darlington, South Carolina; Florence, South Carolina; Farmingdale, New York; and Austria. The firm's products are used in the bottle, sheet, strapping, film, fiber, coumpounding and injection molding markets.

Formed in 1987, the Lake City, South Carolina-based BTI is an asset-based regional carrier located next to the Interstate 95, Interstate 20 and Interstate 26 corridors with ready access to the ports of Wilmington; Charleston, South Carolina; and Savannah, Georgia, according to the release.

“Although PolyQuest will continue buying freight services from existing freight vendors, the Baker acquisition promotes extreme flexibility in tailoring freight and logistics solutions for both PolyQuest’s and Baker Transportation’s current business partners,” said John Marinelli, CEO of PolyQuest, in the release. 

BTI's Billy and Leila Baker, along with their sons Michael and Justin, will continue to oversee all the transactional aspects of this business "and remain fully committed to the existing Baker Transportation customer base today and into the future," Marinelli said. 

Once the transaction is completed, the new entity name will be Baker Transportation LLC, according to the release.

Michael Baker, vice president of operations at Baker Transportation, said in the release, “Over the past 20 years, PolyQuest has been a loyal customer of ours at Baker Transportation.  We are excited about what the future holds for our customers and employees and our continued growth in the transportation industry. Our primary focus over the last four decades has been to provide safe, dependable and quality service. These core competencies will remain unchanged.”