PLS Logistics Acquires The AGL Group, Keeping CEO Steve Zambo in Place

What happened

PLS Logistics Services, a third-party logistics provider based in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, announced on June 25, 2026 that it has acquired The AGL Group, an international freight forwarder and supply chain company in Weymouth, Massachusetts. AGL will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of PLS, with Steve Zambo remaining chief executive and reporting to PLS President Steven Bergan. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The seller

The AGL Group moves domestic, import and export freight. At home it arranges full truckload, less-than-truckload and expedited shipments; internationally it handles ocean freight, air freight, drayage and customs clearance. It brings more than 40 years of experience in domestic, import and export freight, a team of 76 specialists, and a network of more than 600 partner providers worldwide.

Several of its named clients are in forest products and paper. They include Baillie Lumber, a hardwood supplier; Twin Rivers Paper; Nyle Systems, which builds lumber drying kilns in Brewer, Maine; and Reef Innovations, a maker of artificial reefs. Its ocean business carries lumber, gypsum and other building materials, fiberglass, paper rolls and pallets, and temperature-controlled food and beverage, and the company also serves recycling, metals and agriculture shippers.

Since 2020 AGL has donated $1 to charity for every load it ships, through a program it calls AGL Cares. Zambo said of the sale: "The combination will create new opportunities for AGL clients and employees alike."

The buyer

PLS was founded in 1991 and is based in the Pittsburgh metro area. Its domestic business covers truckload, LTL, transportation management systems and managed transportation, and it ranks No. 65 on Transport Topics' Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America. Greg Burns is chairman and CEO.

With AGL, PLS says it now offers international forwarding, including drayage, ocean freight and customs brokerage, alongside that domestic lineup. "The acquisition of the AGL Group brings a proven and reliable international service provider with strong presence in ocean and customs brokerage to the PLS client base," Burns said. Bergan pointed to fit: "The entire PLS Leadership team has been impressed with the customer and employee centric culture that Steve Zambo has built and we see this as an excellent culture fit with PLS."

How PLS and AGL have each bought before

In September 2021, PLS acquired D&L Transport, a truckload brokerage in Overland Park, Kansas, founded in 2004. That deal was set up much like this one: D&L kept its own operating authority as an independent subsidiary of PLS, its president, Brian DeFrain, stayed in the role, and PLS said all existing management and employees would remain. PLS had alos acquired a forwarder that had added a flatbed brokerage.

AGL came into this deal as a former acquirer itself. On April 1, 2025, it closed on ADA Logistics Corporation, a domestic brokerage in Ada, Michigan, which Zambo said would add "strategic flatbed capacity" and "a greater presence in the Great Lakes Region." Owners weighing a similar sale can read our guide to selling a logistics company.

What this means for freight forwarding owners

Burns framed the deal around what AGL's ocean and customs work brings to customers PLS already serves. That puts domestic 3PLs with large shipper bases among the buyers for an international forwarder, and in both PLS deals described here the acquired company stayed intact as a subsidiary under its existing leader. For a forwarder with a specialist client list like AGL's, in lumber and paper, the ocean and customs book is the part of the business the buyer's CEO singled out, together with ADA's domestic brokerage.

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Source: PLS Logistics Services - https://www.plslogistics.com/resources/news/pls-logistics-services-acquires-the-agl-group/