Matrix Service Co. acquires Pelichem Industrial Cleaning Services
BY ROD WALTON World Staff Writer
Thursday, January 03, 2013
1/03/13 at 3:01 AM
Local companies are major players in a thriving industry
Matrix Service Co. will strengthen its industrial cleaning business with the acquisition of a Louisiana rival, the Tulsa-based maintenance and repair company announced Wednesday.
The deal to buy the assets and keep the employees of Pelichem Industrial Cleaning Services LLC closed this week. Pelichem, based in Reserve, La., serves customers in the refining and petrochemical industries.
"Pelichem has been a premier provider of high quality industrial cleaning services for over a decade," Matrix Service CEO John Hewitt said in a statement. "This acquisition significantly expands our industrial cleaning business and further extends our geographic reach along the Gulf Coast."
Matrix Service gains a new operating facility in Reserve to go along with existing industrial cleaning sites in Baton Rouge, La., Kansas City, Mo., and Tulsa.
The transaction was paid with cash on hand and totaled less than $10 million, Matrix Service said.
Pelichem focuses on services such as tank cleaning, chemical cleaning, hydroblasting, waste transportation and vacuum services.
Mark Roussel founded Pelichem with 10 employees and five pieces of equipment in 2002, according to the company's website. The company grew to 80 employees, 100 pieces of equipment and more than 30 vacuum units.
Roussel will stay on as a division manager, said Kevin Cavanah, chief financial officer at Matrix Service. In fact, the entire Pelichem group is coming along with the acquisition.
"They've got the relationships with their customer base; they know their workforce," Cavanah said. "We didn't buy them because they were in trouble. We bought them because they were a growing company."
Matrix started with 11 employees in an east Tulsa garage in 1984. The companywide operations now includes nearly 4,000 people, with 500 working at the Tulsa headquarters and Catoosa plant.
Original Print Headline: Matrix acquires Louisiana rival firm
Rod Walton 918-581-8457
rod.walton@tulsaworld.com
