Petroleum Trends International, Inc. – Publishers of JobbersWorld
March 15, 2024
RelaDyne
RelaDyne is a behemoth in lubricant distribution. Since its inception in 2008, RelaDyne has rapidly grown to become the nation’s largest lubricant distributor and market leader in fuel, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), and reliability services for industrial, commercial, and automotive businesses in North America. The company’s stellar growth came by way of a variety of initiatives, including 56 acquisitions in the distribution channel to further expand in targeted geographies and service-related businesses.
While conceived in 2008, RelaDyne became a reality when, on November 4, 2010, the international private equity investment firm AEA Investors LP, brought together a platform of four successful businesses in fuel, lubrication supply, distribution, and/or industrial services, namely: Mid-Town Petroleum, Inc. (Bridgeview, Illinois); Oil Distributing Company (Cincinnati, Ohio); The Hurt Company, Inc. (Houston, Texas), and Pumpelly Oil Company (Sulphur, Louisiana). RelaDyne also benefited from an exclusive relationship with Mansfield Oil and the support of its business building partner, Kidd & Company, LLC, who originally conceived the RelaDyne concept. In July 2016, Audax Private Equity (“Audax”) announced that had partnered with management to acquire RelaDyne from AEA Investors. Then in December 2021, Audax Private Equity (“Audax”) sold RelaDyne to American Industrial Partners (“AIP”).
The combination of the four platform companies formed RelaDyne, and since then, RelaDyne has continued to actively expand its footprint across the United States with numerous bolt-on acquisitions, as shown below:
RelaDyne is now the market leader in providing the necessary products and services to help companies achieve “best-in-class” equipment reliability performance levels and a greater return on commercial and industrial equipment assets, which is vital to their business profitability and success. “In addition to the company’s established distribution network and customer service capabilities, RelaDyne will distinguish itself from competitors with a focus on value-added services,” said RelaDyne Chief Executive Officer Larry Stoddard. The RelaDyne Reliability Services group (RRS) offerings are organized as an integrated group of services within the company that provide customers with a suite of comprehensive solutions to improve equipment up-time, production output and bottom-line profitability in addition to traditional services of bulk lube and fuel delivery.
Acquisitions are an important part of the RelaDyne strategy and RelaDyne continues to be the “Acquirer of Choice” in the lubricants, fuel, and reliability services industry. It is important to note that many the companies acquired by RelaDyne were also enjoying growth through acquisitions prior to becoming a RelaDyne company. One example is seen with Sun Coast Resources. Sun Coast acquired Southern Lubricants, Ada Resources, and H&W Petroleum, prior to being acquired by RelaDyne.
It is also important to note that this last year RelaDyne expanded for the first time with facilities and an acquisition outside of the continental U.S. with its acquisition of Lucalza (LCZ) based in Guatemala. LCZ was already the largest Chevron distributor outside of the US and with this partnership is looking to continue to expand its presence both within its footprint of five countries in Central America as well as potential new countries and territory. RelaDyne is focused on adding new geography, new capabilities and more density within its current footprint as the company continues to create a national distribution platform.
RelaDyne is Chevron’s largest distributor, and the company also markets other brands, including Shell, Phillips 66, Valvoline, Petro-Canada and others. In addition, RelaDyne owns and markets three nationally recognized private label brands; DuraMAX, Drydene and RelaTECH.
- DuraMAX: The DuraMAX brand includes full synthetic, high mileage, and synthetic blend motor oils, antifreeze, filters, wiper blades, brake cleaners, power steering fluids, and more. Based on a survey conducted by National Oil & Lube News, DuraMAX has been ranked the number one best-selling motor oil blends brand since 2018 by Quick Lube Owners. And on October 3, 2022, RelaDyne announced that DuraMAX, will supply oil to Take 5 Oil Change®’s network of over 750 company-operated and franchised locations across the U.S.
- Drydene: Acquired by RelaDyne in September 2021, Drydene, a brand with a strong heavy duty and industrial products heritage dating back to the mid 1940’s, was relaunched by PPC Lubricants as Drydene Performance Products in 2017. Drydene has since grown to become a recognized national brand with distribution across the country and a complete line of automotive, commercial, and industrial lubricants, including engine oils, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), transmission fluids, grease, hydraulic and gear oils, racing oils, and metalworking fluids.
- RelaTECH: The RelaTECH brand products are designed to extend the operating life of mission-critical equipment, reduce downtime, and increase productivity across industrial sectors. And the RelaTECH custom blending facility blends, packages and distributes automotive, industrial and metalworking lubricants.
While there is no question that RelaDyne is a titan in lubricants distribution, and the company put a tremendous amount of work in to get there, the story doesn’t end here. There will likely be more acquisitions to come, and many in the industry wonder, how and when will AIP exits the business. And when they do, how will this event impact the landscape of lubricant distribution.