Hale Transportation acquires Watertown group of companies

CLINTON, N.Y. — Hale Transportation has expanded into the Watertown market with the acquisition of a group of North Country businesses.

The company closed in May on the acquisition of Clarence Henry Coach, Freeman School Bus Corp., and Freeman Fleet Repairs, says Stephen Hale, president of Hale Transportation.

Hale Transportation worked with Clarence Henry Coach for years, Hale says, sending work to Clarence Henry when Hale was oversold.

Last fall, Clarence Henry owner Leif Petterson approached Hale and the pair worked out a deal for Hale to purchase the business, which also includes the school bus and fleet-repair businesses.

Hale Transportation took over in January with an operating agreement so it wouldn’t lose any momentum while it waited for the purchase to become finalized, Hale says. Hale took over all of Clarence Henry’s contracts, and the deal included purchasing property and equipment. Hale did not disclose any terms.

The deal helped Hale Transportation grow from a fleet of 35 vehicles to 54 vehicles and grow from 65 drivers and 10 office and mechanical staff to 95 drivers and 14 office and mechanical staff.

“We have motorcoaches up there, school buses, and mini coaches,” Hale says. The Clarence Henry acquisition also added a 1954 Bentley to the fleet. With seating for two plus a driver, the Bentley is a new option for couples looking for unique wedding transportation, Hale notes, and he has been marketing the service at wedding shows.

The fleet business, now called Hale’s Garage, offers fleet-vehicle repairs, as well as mechanical services for consumer vehicles. Along with repairing motorcoaches, the garage also works on smaller fleet vehicles like delivery and rental moving trucks.

Business is good, Hale says, so good, in fact, that he’s hoping to break ground this fall on a 5,000-square-foot expansion at the garage. The expansion will add heavy-duty repair bay to the 25,000-square-foot facility, allowing it to better service large vehicles.

The acquisition comes on the heels of one of Hale Transportation’s best years ever, in spite of ongoing concerns with higher fuel and wage costs, Hale says.

Travel boomed in 2022, especially with older travelers. “They just wanted to get on a bus and go somewhere and do something,” Hale says. The firm even chartered its first-ever trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“College sports have been crazy,” Hale adds, as have the area’s regional sports teams. Hale provides transportation services for a number of teams including the Utica Comets, Syracuse Crunch, and Rochester Americans hockey teams. Earlier in May, Hale had 22 motorcoaches at the PGA Championship near Rochester, and the Utica University Nexus Center has generated steady demand for team transportation.

Senior class trips for area high schools are booming as well, Hale says. This comes after two pandemic years where travel ground to a halt before slowly resuming in 2021.

Hale Transportation will be on the road in Cooperstown later this summer for the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony, when it will run 40 buses around the village over the course of four days, Hale says.

With all of that work lined up, Hale doesn’t do much advertising, he notes. Most new business comes from word of mouth about the level of service Hale provides, he says. “Our drivers have been able to provide the good customer service people want.”

“We could keep growing and growing if we wanted to, but we have to put the brakes on to make sure the service is there,” Hale says.

Founded in 2006 as Hale’s Bus Garage, LLC, Hale Transportation is headquartered at 37 Kirkland Avenue in Clinton. Along with the new location at 1067 Marble St. in Watertown, Hale also has an office at 139 Commerce Road in Oneonta.