U.S. Lubricants purchased a lube blending facility in Baltimore, Maryland, from BP, the company announced this week. Terms were undisclosed.
The 105,000-square-foot facility – which produced Castrol brand heavy-duty lubricants – is capable of blending, packaging and storing lubricants. It is “rail-served, has efficient transloading capability, and is located near the Port of Baltimore, allowing U.S. Lubricants to blend greater volumes and transport throughout the country,” the company said in a press release issued Jan. 18.
BP America did not respond to questions about the plant sale by deadline.
“This acquisition, which is aligned with our transformational growth-oriented strategy, provides U.S. Lubricants the opportunity to expand into the mid-major market with the scaling capabilities of a major lubricant provider while retaining our family-owned values of placing our customers first,” said James Williams, president of U.S. Lubricants.
“Not only will this opportunity expand our offerings to strategic customers with a need for optimized [third-party logistics] or toll blending, but it also allows growth for our Thrive brand, ultimately expanding our service area to customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions.”
U.S. Lubricants, based in Appleton, Wisconsin, is a lube blender and distributor. The company says it produces about 13,600 metric tons per year of lubricants at three blending plants.
Its Thrive brand includes motor oils, antifreeze, grease and automatic transmission fluids commercially, and additionally includes hydraulic oils, gear oils and fire-resistant lubricants for industrial applications. The company also distributes national lube brands – Valvoline, Castrol and Petro-Canada among them – in the Midwest.
It operates in Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin with about 2,400 metric tons of storage capacity across seven supply centers.
The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of this year.
