Zero Mountain, Iowa firm set merger

Fort Smith-based Zero Mountain Inc., a cold-storage and transportation company, is merging with Iowa-based Cloverleaf Cold Storage, one of the largest companies in the segment.

The deal was announced on Monday and includes all of Zero Mountain’s assets, with five locations in Arkansas and one under construction in Waco, Texas. When combined, the two companies will have about 140 million cubic feet of storage capacity in nine states and will become the fifth-largest cold-storage warehouse company in the nation, according to a news release.

Zero Mountain was founded in 1955 by the Rumsey family. It now ships about 2.5 million pounds of food each year and manages 38 million cubic feet of storage capacity. It employs about 275 workers in five operations in Lowell, Johnson, Fort Smith, Russellville and Little Rock.

“Zero Mountain is highly respected in the cold-storage industry, and the Rumsey family is known for its longstanding relationships and dedication to customer service,” Bill Feiges, co-chief executive officer of Cloverleaf, said in a statement.

Cloverleaf, founded in 1952 by the Kaplan and Feiges families, runs 19 warehouses with over 120 million cubic feet of capacity and serves the Midwest and Southeast.

Terms of the deal were not released. The merger is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.