Chemicals producer Verdant Specialty Solutions acquired fellow producer Baze Chemical this week, further expanding its surfactant manufacturing capacity and lubricants market reach.
Baze Chemical is a manufacturer of drilling fluid lubricants, which are used in slim-hole directional drilling and reduce torque, drag and metal surface wear. The company offers both an oil-soluble product and a water-soluble product. It also produces surfactants, emulsifiers and corrosion inhibitors that can be used in lubricants.
“Many of the capabilities of the manufacturing assets of Baze, which include alkoxylation in Palestine, Texas, and multipurpose chemical synthesis in Liberty, Texas, can be applied to our core market segments as well as lubricants, metal treatment and other industrial applications,” Verdant CEO John Foley told Lube Report. “With Baze’s experience in the development and manufacture of corrosion inhibitors for the oil and gas markets, we expect applicability of some of this chemistry into lubricant applications.”
Verdant, based in Houston, Texas, makes surfactants used in a variety of applications, including as corrosion inhibitors and emulsifiers for lubricants.
The company did not disclose its surfactants production capacity nor Baze Chemical’s surfactants and lubricants production capacity.
The acquisition includes Baze Chemical’s 82 employees and four facilities, including its 130,000-square-foot surfactants manufacturing plant in Palestine, Texas, built in 2016 with capacity for more growth. The other facilities are a manufacturing and research and development center in Liberty, Texas, and two formulation, blending and warehousing facilities in Odessa, Texas, and New Iberia, Louisiana.
“Acquiring Baze Chemical provides the needed manufacturing backbone to enhance our capability to support our customers in the lubricants market,” Foley said. “We saw the opportunity to increase our capacity and broaden our portfolio of solutions for customers in a number of market segment, including lubricants.” The cost of the acquisition was undisclosed.
Surfactants are the focus of Verdant’s business, with a market-leading position on amphoteric surfactants, Foley said. With the acquisition of Baze Chemical, Verdant’s portfolio includes more than 375 surfactants and specialty chemicals.
In July, Verdant acquired two companies, DeForest Enterprises and ParaFlow Energy. DeForest is a manufacturer of surfactants that are used in metalworking fluids, emulsification and corrosion inhibition.
At the time of that acquisition, Foley told Lube Report it had plans for expansion in the surfactants industry and viewed lubricants as an “attractive” segment for the company.
Verdant was formed in April after private equity firm OpenGate Capital acquired the surfactants business from the chemical company Solvay and renamed it.