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WHOLLY TOLEDO EXPANSION • BRENNTAG IS PROGRESSING WITH GROWTH IN THE US AND WITH ‘PROJECT BRENNTAG’, DESPITE THE DIFFICULT BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
BRENNTAG NORTH AMERICA has been busy recently, completing work on a new facility and continuing its acquisition path to be able to provide a more comprehensive service for its clients. In late July it opened a new full-line distribution centre in Toledo, Ohio (pictured opposite), offering some 230,000 ft² (21,400 m²) of space for the storage and distribution of commodity and specialty chemicals, solvents, surfactants and food ingredients. It sits adjacent to a seven-acre (2.8-ha) tank farm and has both interior and exterior rail links. “Toledo provides a perfect location to improve service levels and grow volumes with the existing customer base in Michigan and Indiana, while increasing growth opportunities in Ohio,” says Dan Arneson, president of Brenntag Great Lakes. “Brenntag’s global supply and distribution network is now fully available to local customers in the tri-state area. The combination of our dedicated
HCB MONTHLY | SEPTEMBER 2020
employees, innovative supplier base, and strong customer focus will provide our customers with fast response times, efficient low-cost logistics, and expert technical and market support.” Steven Terwindt, COO of Brenntag North America, adds: “This advanced rail-connected distribution centre in Toledo is the beginning of a new growth cycle for Brenntag in the Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio area. Our principal objective has always been, and will continue to be, to serve the needs of our customers and suppliers in the safest and most efficient manner possible. In addition, our dedicated specialty product storage and logistics capabilities will provide our customers with an extra service dimension.” SODA AND LUBES Brenntag has also acquired the caustic soda business of Suffolk Solutions, a Virginia-based
distributor whose assets include a tank terminal and rail transloading facility in the state. “The business and the related terminals of Suffolk Solutions fit seamlessly into our ambitions to further link Brenntag’s caustic soda network in the eastern US,” says Terwindt. “There is great potential to strengthen our supply chain and expand our customer base in this geography.” “Suffolk Solutions will strengthen Brenntag’s footprint in the Virginia market and thus will enable us to improve our logistical infrastructure throughout the region,” adds Anthony Gerace, managing director of mergers and acquisitions at Brenntag Group. “It will provide us with greater supply flexibility, manoeuvrability, and additional storage capacity on the east coast of the United States.” The acquired business generated sales of some $15.6m in the twelve months to the end of April 2020. Somewhat further east, Brenntag has agreed to acquire Thailand-based lubricants distributor Oils ‘R Us, plugging a gap in its regional network for the distribution of lubes for the automotive, commercial, industrial and marine sectors. “Our acquisition in Thailand, which is the second largest economy in south-east Asia, perfectly drives Brenntag’s lubricants expansion plan in the region forward,” says Henri Nejade, CEO of Brenntag Asia Pacific. “Not only regional, but also in terms of service
