ELGIN, Ill., Nov. 4, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. (Nasdaq:HCCI) ("the Company"), a leading provider of parts cleaning, used oil re-refining, and hazardous and non-hazardous waste services primarily focused on small and mid-sized customers, today announced the signing of an asset purchase agreement by its subsidiary Heritage – Crystal Clean, LLC to acquire certain assets of RS Used Oil Services Inc., a subsidiary of Universal Lubricants LLC.
The acquired business includes service routes covering Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin and portions of Illinois. Based on the historical performance of the business, the Company expects the transaction will result in additional used oil collection volume of approximately 8 million gallons per year. The used oil collection volume from this transaction will serve as an important source of supply for the Company's used oil re-refinery in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Mr. Joseph Chalhoub, Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. commented: "We are very pleased to be adding the RS Used Oil Services personnel, in the selected area, to our team and their assets to our organization. We expect this acquisition will allow us to improve the overall efficiency of our used oil collection fleet and move us closer to our long term goal of collecting enough used oil to supply 100% of the feedstock required by our re-refinery."
Chalhoub added: "With this acquisition, we expect to add approximately 3,800 new customers. The new used oil collection routes should fit nicely into our existing branch infrastructure and provide us the opportunity to offer additional value, beyond used oil collection, to these customers."
Mr. Mark DeVita, Chief Financial Officer of HCCI added: "This transaction is our largest acquisition to date, and we expect it to integrate smoothly into our branch network. The consideration is all cash, paid out of our available cash on hand."
Universal Lubricants and RS Used Oil Services will continue to operate its used oil collection business in all areas in the Midwestern and Southern United States not covered by this asset purchase agreement, including portions of Illinois served from their facility in Roxana, Illinois (St. Louis area). Universal Lubricants also will continue to sell finished lubricants and related products to customers throughout the United States.
Safe Harbor Statement
All references to the "Company," "we," "our," and "us" refer to Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc., and its subsidiaries.
This release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current management expectations. Generally, the words "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "should," "will," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result," "would" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other important factors include, among others: volatility in the price of base oil; increased solvent, fuel, and energy costs and volatility in the price of crude oil; increased market supply or decreased demand for base oil; the used oil re-refinery does not perform as anticipated; the used oil re-refinery may not generate the operating results that we anticipate; changes in environmental laws that affect our business model; our ability to comply with the extensive environmental, health and safety, and employment laws and regulations that our Company is subject to; competition; economic conditions including conditions like those experienced in the recent recession and financial crisis and downturns in the business cycles of automotive repair shops, industrial manufacturing business, and small businesses in general; dependency on suppliers; our dependency on key employees; we do not realize the anticipated benefits from our acquisitions; claims relating to our handling of hazardous substances; the limited demand for our used solvent; our ability to effectively manage our extended network of branch locations; warranty expense and liability claims; personal injury litigation; the control of The Heritage Group over our Company; and the risks identified in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 27, 2013 and subsequent filings with the SEC. Given these uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update or revise them or provide reasons why actual results may differ. The information in this release should be read in light of such risks and in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this release.
About Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc.
Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. provides parts cleaning, used oil re-refining, and hazardous and non-hazardous waste services to small and mid-sized customers in both the manufacturing and vehicle service sectors. Our service programs include parts cleaning, containerized waste management, used oil collection and re-refining, vacuum truck services, and waste antifreeze collection and recycling. These services help our customers manage their used chemicals and liquid and solid wastes, while also helping to minimize their regulatory burdens. Our customers include businesses involved in vehicle maintenance operations, such as car dealerships, automotive repair shops, and trucking firms, as well as small manufacturers, such as metal product fabricators and printers. Through our used oil re-refining program, we recycle used oil into high quality lubricating base oil, and we are a supplier to firms that produce and market finished lubricants. Heritage-Crystal Clean, Inc. is headquartered in Elgin, Illinois, and operates through 74 branches serving over 93,000 customer locations.
The Company uses its website to make available information to investors and the public at www.crystal-clean.com.
About Universal Lubricants
Founded in 1929, Universal Lubricants is a driving force in used oil collection, base oil re-refining and distribution. Through its closed loop process, the company collects, re-refines, blends and re-distributes its own engine oils and lubricants – never losing guardianship within the chain – to ensure that every quart is of the highest quality for optimal performance. Universal Lubricants operates 32 facilities nationally, including one of the world's most technologically advanced re-refineries in Wichita, Kansas. For more information visit www.universallubes.com.