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NEWS BULLETIN
CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION
LBB BUYS CCS
LeBaronBrown’s LBB Specialties has acquired a majority interest in Florida-based specialty chemicals and ingredients distributor Custom Chemical Services (CCS), whose president, Chad Hicks, will continue to manage the business. CCS says the transaction will position the company for long-term, continued growth. “The investment brings additional resources and commercial relationships to support the growth of CCS’s principals and customers, building upon the success of our dedicated CCS team. We are excited about our future and the partnership with LBB Specialties, and believe significant opportunities lie ahead,” Hicks says. Darren J Birkelbach, CEO of LBB Specialties, adds: “We are thrilled by the addition of CCS to the LBB Specialties platform. CCS built its reputation as a strong regional distributor by partnering with high-quality principals and providing excellent service to its loyal customers. We look forward to providing resources and support to build on CCS’s success and fuel ongoing growth as we
HCB MONTHLY | FEBRUARY 2021
continue to build LBB Specialties as a leader in the North American specialty chemical and ingredients distribution market.” www.lebaronbrown.com NOVASOL GROWS IN SPAIN
Novasol Chemicals has acquired Glokem Pro Distribution, formerly known as PCI, a chemical distributor in Spain. The acquisition brings Belgium-based Novasol new expertise, particularly in the construction sector, and reinforces specialty chemicals activities within the group. “This acquisition provides us with a strong south European base activity and additional logistics and partnership opportunities with 90 per cent of European suppliers,” says Novasol. novasolchemicals.com BUILDING WITH BRENNTAG
Brenntag has agreed to acquire Alpha Chemical, a full-line chemical distributor based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Alpha generates annual sales of some $12m, serving several key
industries including oil and gas, mining, water treatment and acquaculture. “Alpha Chemical is a well-established business with a stellar reputation for quality and service in the region,” says Anthony Gerace, managing director, mergers and acquisitions at Brenntag. “In addition to providing ready access to the oil and gas offshore upstream market in Atlantic Canada, the state-of-the-art facility in Newfoundland will allow us to better service the other important regional markets as well. As the fourth acquisition in Canada in as many years it reinforces Brenntag’s strong commitment to the Canadian market.” Lars Schneider, president of Brenntag Canada, adds: “Alpha Chemical’s infrastructure, capabilities and personnel will support the expansion of our new Brenntag Essentials and Brenntag Specialties divisions in Canada. The acquisition will allow Alpha Chemical and Brenntag Canada to provide even stronger value to our customers and supply partners in Atlantic Canada.” Brenntag has also expanded its management board with the appointment of Ewout van Jarwaade (left) to the new post of chief transformation officer (CTO). In the new role he will be responsible for the execution of the company’s global transformation programme, Project Brenntag, which aims to expand the company’s leading market position and drive sustainable organic earnings growth. “I am very pleased that with Ewout van Jarwaarde we have been able to recruit a distinguished expert and experienced digital and transformation manager as CTO,” says Doreen Nowotne, chair of the Supervisory Board of Brenntag. “With the now completed five-member Management Board, we have a very strong leadership team, who will consistently execute the company’s transformation in order to achieve sustainable growth for Brenntag.” 37-year-old van Jarwaarde was most recently CEO of CarNext.com, which he helped develop and scale as part of the LeasePlan group. Prior to that, he was a partner at McKinsey & Company with a focus on strategy development, commercial and operational excellence transformations and building digital and data-driven capabilities. www.brenntag.com
