Contract blender Delta Petroleum Co. recently bought Canadian company Vulsay Industries Ltd. The acquisition expands the reach and packaging capabilities of Delta, which already lays claim to being one of the largest independent blenders in North America.
Vulsay, which is based in Brampton, Ontario, is also a contract blender and packager. It operates a 117,000-square-foot plant with capacity to fill 26 million gallons of fluids per year. It also blowmolds its own bottles. Formed in 1972, the company employs 75 people.
President Ross Quantz said he and his partner, who bought Vulsay in 1994, decided to sell the company with an eye toward retirement. They hired a firm to search for prospective buyers, and it suggested Delta, among others.
We are getting a little older, and while we both have children, they wont be coming into the business, Quantz told Lube Report. We wanted to make sure we put it in the hands of a company that would provide stability for customers and employees. And we think Delta will also provide a chance for it to continue its growth pattern.
Delta is based in St. Rose, La., and operates plants there and in New Orleans, Houston, Denver and Chicago.
Vulsay is a good fit geographically because it extends our coverage area and could allow us to bring other customers into that area, Delta President G. Charles Lapeyre said. Plus there arent a lot of players up there, so its a good area to be in.
The companies did not disclose terms of the sale, which was completed in late April. Officials said Vulsay is now a wholly-owned subsidiary but will maintain a separate identity, as has another recent Delta acquisition, Chicago-based Olympic Oil, which was bought in 2001. Lapeyre added that Vulsays management, including Quantz, remains intact.