Texas firm buys Reading Truck Body

JB Poindexter & Co., a privately-owned Houston manufacturing company that owns the Morgan Corp. truck-body firm in Morgantown, Berks County, says it has also acquired Reading Truck Body in nearby Shillington, from Philadelphia-based LLR Partners, whose owners include investor Ira Lubert. The companies won't say what Poindexter paid LLR. Reading employs around 700 at plants in Pennsylvania and sites in other states.

Reading will benefit from being part of a "larger organization," said Reading CEO Brian Nadel in a statement. The companies will continue to operate independently, according to Poindexter, and Reading will execute current plans to expand into new markets and products.

"It is a natural fit," the buyer's founder, John Poindexter, said in a statement. "Reading's work is the benchmark by which truck bodies and equipment services are measured today." He promised to suport Reading's future growth and the development of systems to help make drivers and users more efficient.