Bel-Ray gets acquired by Calumet Special Products Partners
Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: CLMT), a leading independent producer of specialty hydrocarbon and fuel products, announced that it has acquired the Bel-Ray Company, Inc., a manufacturer and global distributor of high-performance lubricants. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Privately held Bel-Ray manufacturers and distributes a wide array of high-end specialty lubricants sold through its Industrial, Mining and Powersports divisions.
Founded in 1946 by William Kiefer, Bel-Ray’s products are sold in more than 100 countries across six continents. The company owns and operates a 32-acre manufacturing facility in New Jersey with access to ports in New York, Newark and Philadelphia. Bel-Ray is managed by Mr. Kiefer’s daughter, Daryl Bronson, who has led the company’s growth since his retirement in 1995.
For nearly 70 years, Bel-Ray’s high performance lubrication technologies have been engineered to set high standards of quality, value and performance. Today, Bel-Ray’s specialty lubricants are widely accepted as a brand of choice used in the aerospace, automotive, energy, food, marine, military, mining, motorcycle, powersports, steel and textiles industries.
“This transaction signals our ongoing commitment to growing a global specialty products business,” said Jennifer Straumins, president and COO of Calumet Specialty Products Partners. “Bel-Ray will join an existing portfolio of market-leading specialty products brands that include our Royal Purple line of high-performance synthetic lubricants and our Penreco line of FDA-registered food-grade products.”
“Bel-Ray’s New Jersey-based manufacturing plant will provide us with an East Coast facility capable of serving both domestic and export markets,” added Straumins. “This facility, which currently produces lubricating oils and greases, has ample capacity to supply incremental customer demand for our products.”
Given the private, fragmented nature of the specialty products markets we occupy, Calumet remains an active consolidator of established, profitable businesses that complement our existing product portfolio,” concluded Straumins.
“We are excited by the potential opportunities stemming from this transaction and look forward to having the employees of Bel-Ray join the Calumet family of companies,” stated Bryan Yourdon, President of Royal Purple and Calumet’s Vice President of Branded and Packaged Products.
“As a globally recognized specialty lubricants brand, Bel-Ray provides us with an entry point into new customers and geographies where we will have an opportunity to cross-sell our existing lines of products, such as Royal Purple, among others,” continued Yourdon. “Over time, we will seek to pursue the acquisition of additional branded specialty product lines that help us to further achieve profitable growth on a global scale.”