St. Lawrence Chemical purchased by Brenntag

Specialty chemicals distributor St. Lawrence Chemical Inc., based in Montreal, has been acquired by global chemical distribution firm, Brenntag Holding GmbH, the companies announced January 4.

Brenntag’s Canadian subsidiary, Brenntag Canada, is based in Toronto, and is part of Brenntag North America.

William A. Fidler, Brenntag North America’s CEO, said the combination of both St. Lawrence Chemical’s and Brenntag’s product lines will allow the firm to further penetrate the market, especially since St. Lawrence Chemical has already established itself in the Canadian market.

“As I considered the future for St. Lawrence, it became clear to me that in order to achieve even greater levels of success within our industry, we needed to partner with a major organization who shared our corporate values and business direction,” Pat O’Brien, CEO of St. Lawrence Chemical, said. “I believe this union with Brenntag will allow a continuation of the growth and successes we have achieved to date with our dedicated and talented employee team.”

St. Lawrence Chemical, which has sales and distribution centres in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, as well as Montreal, heavily focuses on serving the coatings, adhesives, sealant and elastomers (CASE) industry, and boasted sales of $120 million in 2005.

“This acquisition is a tremendous opportunity to enhance our presence in several industries, including the CASE, food, personal care and pharmaceutical markets, strengthening our leading position in Canada,” Michael Stanley, president of Brenntag Canada, said.

Brenntag Canada has sales offices across the country in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and St. John’s, Nfld.