Colfax Corp., a manufacturer of fluid-handling products, has acquired Houston-based Lubrication Systems Co., which provides centralized oil mist lubrication and lube oil purification systems, from its shareholders for an undisclosed amount.
Lubrication Systems, which has 88 employees, has manufacturing operations in Houston and sales and service associates in Baton Rouge, La.; Port Arthur, Texas; Tacoma, Wash.; and Beijing, China. LSC is also majority owner of Houston-based MRT Laboratories, which provides clients with early warning and problem solving capabilities through the use of lubricant and other process fluid analysis.
Joe Niemann, senior vice president of marketing and strategic planning for Richmond, Va.-based Colfax, told Lube Report, A lot of our positive displacement screw pumps are used in applications to lubricate various parts. For example, in a power generation facility a number of our pumps would be used to help lubricate the turbine. So as we look at our portfolio of products, we see Lubrication Systems adding to that capability.
Niemann said the acquisition also has the potential to help Colfax expand into other markets. If you look at where the Lubrication Systems Co. products are used, theyre primarily in petrochemical and refining applications, he said. Those are – in terms of Colfaxs business – not some of the areas where weve tended to focus. I would hope that as we learn more about that market and those applications, there might be more opportunities for us to grow there.
Customers use Lubrication Systems LubriMist oil mist systems and ThermoJet oil purification systems, primarily in the hydrocarbon processing industry, to improve performance and reliability of rotation equipment such as pumps, motors and gear boxes. LubriMist uses compressed air to produce and supply a lean mixture of low-pressure atomized lubricating oil through distribution piping and tubing to pieces of equipment and bearing housings. ThermoJet oil purifiers remove free and dissolved water and light hydrocarbons from industrial lubricants and hydraulic oils.
Colfax develops, engineers, manufactures, distributes, services and supports pumping and fluid-handling systems used worldwide in oil and gas, power generation, marine and a variety of other applications. According to Colfax, its screw pump products do not require a regimented maintenance and overhaul program, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars saved throughout the lifecycle of the pump. Fluids that are pumped include lubricating oil, light and heavy crude, bunker, bitumen, slop oil, distillate and oily water.