Swedish grease maker Axel Christiernsson on Monday acquired U.S. grease manufacturer Jesco Resources, which will operate as Axel Americas LLC. The price was not disclosed.
Axel Group CEO Johan Stureson will serve as president of Axel Americas, while Jescos previous owner and president Richard Howell will remain as executive vice president. Stureson said the two companies know each other well, and that both will benefit from the acquisition. Each manufactures private label greases for a wide variety of applications in the industrial and automotive segments.
The first thing theyre bringing is manufacturing capacity on the ground in the United States, which Axel as a company in Europe did not have in the past, Stureson told Lube Report. Secondly, there are obviously some product technologies which Jesco will have, which we dont have. We can combine that with something else which Axel will have in Europe, for the best of both parties on either side of the Atlantic.
Axel Christiernsson has been exporting some material to the United States, primarily specialty products manufactured in Europe, according to Stureson.
We believe there will be more of that for the business going forward, he said. We have a number of large, prestigious customers which we service in Europe which obviously have a significant presence in the United States. Some of them are even based in the United States. So we can help to service them in a much better way for the future.
While Jescos business will carry on as Axel Americas, Stureson emphasized, were carrying forward the trademark of Jesco as well to help to portray to the outside market that theres business as usual in that respect. All customer relationships will remain the same, and all customer contacts and supply contacts will remain the same.
With Jesco now a part of the Axel Group, we anticipate continued growth and innovation, Jescos Richard Howell said.
Nol, Sweden-based Axel Christiernsson has production sites in Sweden, the Netherlands and France. In July 2006, Axel acquired Shells Christol Grease SAS in Niort, France. According to its web site, Axel has annual grease output of more than 20,000 metric tons.
Founded in 1929, Jesco Resources has 41 employees in facilities in Kansas City, Mo., and Rosedale, Miss. The companys web site notes the Rosedale facility opened on a 22-acre site in 1986, adding 55,000 square feet of working space, along with 600,000 gallons of lube oil and finished product storage.
Axel is owned by Swedish investment firm Fairford Holdings Scandinavia AB.