All signs indicate that Ozburn-Hessey Logistics is about to embark on a shopping spree of its own. For one thing, the third-party service provider is flush with capital after being acquired last summer by New York-based private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. For another, it recently hired a vice president of acquisitions.

Any doubts about OH's intentions were quickly erased by comments made by Shad Weaver, the new VP of acquisitions, when he joined the company in January. "Very rarely does an opportunity exist to help a company that has been in business for over half a century make radical changes through growth and integration," Weaver said.

Prior to joining OH Logistics, Weaver worked in the financial industry, serving most recently as a vice president at private equity firm Claritas Capital. Before that, he was employed by Merrill Lynch & Co. as a financial analyst specializing in mergers and acquisitions.