Fuchs Petrolub SE said last week that it has agreed to buy Lubritene and Lubrasa, sister specialty lubricant companies based in South Africa. Lubritene supplies oils and greases for mining companies in South Africa and Australia, while Lubrasa sells food-grade lubes.
Mannheim, Germany-based Fuchs, the worlds largest independent lubricant marketer, did not reveal the amount it will pay for the acquisition, but it did say that Lubritene and Lubrasa had combined sales of 15 million (approximately U.S. $21 million) in their most recent fiscal year.
Fuchs said it made the acquisition primarily to obtain product technology, customer base and personnel. Lubritene will add to its stable of products for the mining industry, while Lubrasa extends its product offerings for food-grade applications in South Africa.
With this transaction Fuchs is further expanding its specialization on lubricants and its long term and global strategy of marketing niche technology, Fuchs said in a May 14 press release.
Lubritene and Lubrasa have manufacturing plants in Gauteng province – Lubritene in Chloorkop and Lubrasa in Roodepoort. Fuchs suggested these will eventually be closed or sold as it intends to integrate the acquired operations into its existing facilities.
Lubrasa claims to have built the first plant in South Africa dedicated to the production of food-grade and pharmaceutical-grade lubricants. The company formerly did business under the Lubrax brand name, but gave up that name last year. Brazils Petrobras uses the Lubrax brand name.