Lubricating Specialties Co. President Sydney Thwaites and Vintage Capital Partners II, L.P. have acquired full ownership of the independent blender, as retiring Chairman and CEO Steve Milam becomes an advisor.
LSC named Thwaites – who was promoted to president/chief operating officer in early 2013 – president and CEO, and the rest of the companys senior management team will remain in place. Milam will take on an advisory role for a period of time as the management team transitions.
Weve had this in the works for quite a while, Thwaites told Lube Report. Weve been in the transition for about two years so this is just the last step. Its a pretty seamless change. Our suppliers and customers and our employees wont see a real difference outside of how things have evolved over the last couple years.
In a news release, he noted, Vintage Capital has played a role in our growth over the past decade, and this transaction ensures a seamless transition and base for our future growth.
Founded in 1928, Pico Rivera, Calif.-based Lubricating Specialties Co. is a contract blender and packager of lubricants and greases. The company also provides liquid storage, transloading, warehousing, distribution and export services to the lubricant and chemical industries. LSC operates four facilities in southern California, all located near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Its customer base is throughout the U.S., Asia and the west coast of South America. LSCs customers include both major oil and independent brands. Thwaites noted the majority of Lubricating Specialties business is in exports. Probably 65 to 70 percent of everything we do ends up in Asia-Pacific or other countries, he said. Our biggest market is Asia-Pacific but we have been doing quite a bit recently to South America, and because of logistics, its easier for us to get to the western countries of South America.
Los Angeles-based Vintage Fund Management is a private investment fund.