"We needed a new business model to fight the competitive battle taking shape in this industry," AmeriQuest president & CEO Doug Clarke told Fleet Owner. "This acquisition will allow us to expand those efforts, fusing the best aspects of a franchise system, a for-profit company, and a buying consortium into one entity." As a non-profit leasing system tying together various independent leasing providers into a loose national network, Amtralease created AmeriQuest for the joint benefit of its participating truck rental and leasing companies and shareholders, particularly to consolidated buying power and discounts for a range of truck-related goods.

By buying out Amtralease, Clarke hopes AmeriQuest can give independent providers a new and different competitive edge in leasing.

"We saw changes and consolidation coming to our industry and there had to be a way for independent truck leasing and rental companies to compete in an environment where two or three major players would ultimately dominate the marketplace," he said. "Independents provide flexibility and tremendous service levels that larger companies cannot match and we hope this new business model can improve on that edge."

AmeriQuest believes its new business model is so different that it actually patented it in February last year. Now the challenge will be to take its FleetXchange and Corcentric services and modify them to serve both leasing providers as well as for-hire and private trucking carriers.

"This structure gives us a better way to raise capital, helps us reinvest more profit into the business to help it grow, and gives us the size and structure of a Ryder or Penske leasing corporation without us having to own all the assets," said Clarke. "That's why we think this new model will service us well in the leasing marketplace of the future."