Warren Distribution completed and commissioned its fourth blending plant, located in Houston, with initial blending capacity of 8 million gallons, which can be scaled up to 20 million gallons with additional infrastructure investment. In an April 11 news release, the private label blender cited Texas explosive growth in business and population as a key factor.
The Houston plant will ship automotive, commercial and industrial lubricants throughout the Gulf Coast region in bulk transports, packaged in totes, drums and pails. The new plant increases the Omaha, Nebraska-based companys blending capacity to more than 100 million gallons per year from plants in Iowa, West Virginia, Alabama and Texas.
Curt Knapp, Warren Distributions chief operating officer for sales and supply, noted that growth in distributors proprietary brands in automotive, commercial and industrial segments has helped drive up demand for the companys products. We pretty much exclusively supply private label – not our own brands – and it is the growing part of the market as major brands continue to decline, Knapp told Lube Report.
He said Houston is the perfect hub for servicing the entire Texas market and surrounding states. Until now, distributors have largely been served from suppliers in Louisiana, he noted. Texas is the fastest growing state for population and business.
With the new plant, Knapp said, the company will expand sales of its products and service to existing customers with operations in the region and new local customers that it hasnt been able to serve in the past.
He noted the new plant features a fully automated in-line blending system and – because everything is hard-piped – has no hoses. It has zero waste due to all lines being totally piggable to and from every tank, and a drum decanting unit. Drum decanting units are used in blending plants for precise dosing of additive components from drums or containers.
Photo courtesy of Warren Distribution