Distributor PetroChoice acquired LubriCorp and opened a hub in Ohio last week. The company did not disclose costs, but said the moves will help expand its reach to most of the southeastern United States and additional areas in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic.
Effective Oct. 1, Knoxville, Tenn.-headquartered LubriCorp merged into PetroChoice, which is based in Avoca, Pa., and Superior, Wis.
LubriCorps former president, Mike Foltz, has been retained as vice president and general manager of PetroChoices Tennessee division.
The deal will help PetroChoice expand its offering of lubricating oil distribution services, including filtration, reclamation and engineering, CEO Shane OKelly told Lube Report. It also will expand PetroChoices market from much of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest to the southeastern states of Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, West Virginia and parts of North Carolina and Tennessee.
We focus on growing in contiguous geographies where we can connect the branches in the network, OKelly said. Tennessee is a good fit with our strategic vision for PetroChoice.Also, we were excited by LubriCorps management team, in particular, the leadership of Mike Foltz.
PetroChoice also opened a 19,000 square foot distribution center on a greenfield site in Bridgeport, Ohio, which it said was a significant investment. We are going to initially service our existing customers who have asked us to meet their needs in this market area, OKelly added.The facility also enables us to better connect our logistics infrastructure. Specifically, it serves as a bridge between our Cincinnati and our western Pennsylvania locations. Well also service our existing customer base associated with the [natural gas reserves of the] Marcellus Shale.
PetroChoice acquired Craft Oil in December 2012 and Anderson Lubricants in April 2011. Its been owned by Greenbriar Equity Group LLC, in Rye, N.Y.,since January 2012. The company distributes lubricants from majors such as Valvoline, Phillips 66, Mobil, Castrol and more, along with coolants, metalworking fluids, equipment, heaters, hydraulic vehicle lifts, automobile lube and filtration systems, contamination control devices and more.
LubriCorp distributes consumer, commercial and industrial lubricants and specialty products and has operating facilities in Kingsport and Cleveland, Tenn.