Silhouette Security sells courier division

by Jeremy Elwood

SBJ Reporter

jelwood@sbj.net

St. Louis-based 1st Choice Courier and Distribution Inc. made its second Springeld-area acquisition Oct. 20, when a deal was nalized for Silhouette Security's courier division. Silhouette Security is based in Strafford.

1st Choice Courier bought Springeld-based Courier Express in December 2002.

1st Choice owner Charlie Walch said there is a lot of appeal to the southwest Missouri area.

"Its main appeal is it's the third largest metropolitan area in Missouri," he said. "One of our strategies has been to evolve from a one-hour, around town delivery service in St. Louis, which is how we started. We're trying to expand more and more to become a sort of mini UPS in Missouri, so having routes in Springeld makes good sense."

With the purchase, 1st Choice Courier, started by Walch in 1989, now has approximately 40 trucks in its Springeld eet. Walch said that number includes eight new drivers he has added to handle deliveries in Springeld and the surrounding area.

Gregg Moir, owner of Silhouette Security, said the sale was one of necessity.

"The courier division was growing by leaps and bounds," he said, "and I just couldn't control it the way it should have been run, so I sold that part of it."

Moir started Silhouette Security in 1992. He continues to run the core of the company, which specializes in providing security and night watch personnel for businesses.

Both parties declined to disclose nancial terms of the deal.