Equity Group Investments (EGI), Sam Zell’s private investment firm, today announced an investment in East Coast Warehouse (ECW), a leading provider of temperature-controlled logistics to the food and beverage industry. EGI is partnering with ECW’s senior management team, who will continue leading the business and retain an ownership stake in the company. The partnership provides additional capital for add-on acquisitions and strategic support for the organization as it expands into new geographies. EGI President Mark Sotir, Managing Director Evan Harwood, and Vice President Tyler Goldstein join ECW’s board of directors alongside CEO Jamie Overley.

“With more than 65 years in operation, ECW is well-established in the temperature-controlled logistics space and has excelled under Jamie’s leadership,” said Sotir. “EGI has a proven track record of successfully scaling up companies in the transportation and real estate sectors. This alignment offers an exciting opportunity to partner with ECW through its next growth phase within an industry that continues to expand and experience tremendous advancements.”

“We are proud to partner with EGI as we build upon our expansions into Baltimore and Savannah and look toward other regions across the country for our next phase of growth,” said Overley. “This partnership will allow us to continue to execute our vision of providing an end-to-end national temperature-controlled third-party logistics solution with regional expertise and commitment to providing our customers with seamless capabilities and unmatched service.”

Headquartered in Elizabeth, New Jersey, ECW operates 72 million cubic feet of temperature-controlled and ambient warehouse space at the Ports of New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Savannah. In addition to its port-based warehousing services, ECW provides container drayage, local and regional trucking, national freight brokerage and customs exam services, offering shippers a fully integrated supply chain solution.

"We continue to see significant opportunity in differentiated logistics businesses like ECW," commented Harwood. "ECW's port-based strategy and its suite of end-to-end supply chain services make the company a leader in its markets and support its long-standing relationships with some of the largest shippers in the food and beverage industry."