Calumet acquires US lubricants company Bel-Ray

Calumet Specialty Products has acquired Bel-Ray Company, a manufacturer and global distributor of high-performance lubricants, the companies announced on Tuesday/

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 

Privately-held Bel-Ray manufactures and distributes a wide array of 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.

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 of Calumet Specialty Products. "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," she continued. "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."