Independent lubricant manufacturer Fuchs Petrolub bought out its partner in a joint venture distributorship in Chile, the company announced this week.
The acquisition is part of the German company’s strategy to strengthen its presence in South America.
The distribution business, Fuchs Lubricants SpA, was formed in 2018 after Fuchs acquired a 65% stake in the lubricants business of Comercial Pacific Ltda. Commercial Pacific retained the other 35% interest then of the business, which was already a Fuchs distributor servicing the Chilean mining, food, paper and cellulose industries.
“With Chile being an important lubricant market in South America, this transaction is another milestone on our journey to further strengthen our business activities in the Southern part of the Americas,” Timo Reister, a Fuchs executive boardmember responsible for the Americas, said in a press release.
“The Chilean lubricant market offers significant potential for Fuchs,” Fuchs Lubricants SpA Managing Director Yasser Maljuf said. “We see a strong trend towards high performance lubricants.” With its growing local Fuchs team in Chile, he said, adding that the business is adding customers in segments like mining, food, wind power and automotive
Fuchs also operates in Brazil and Argentina with Fuchs Lubrificantes do Brazil Ltda., and Fuchs Argentina S.A., respectively.
“Chile is a growing market for Fuchs, and the acquisition of the outstanding shares fits to Fuchs’ operating model in South America,” a company spokesperson told Lube Report. “Fuchs will look for further expansion opportunities of this kind if they make strategic sense for Fuchs’ business and growth strategy.”
Fuchs Lubricants SpA generated €2 million (U.S. $2.1 million) in sales revenue for the fiscal year 2022, according to Fuchs.
Fuchs has acquired distributors in a number of countries in recent years, usually operations that had relationships with Fuchs before being acquired. The Mannheim, Germany-based company is the world’s largest independent lube supplier.