The privately held Colonial Group is growing again.
The Savannah, Georgia-based company recently acquired the Strickland Oil Company through its Colonial Oil Industries division, and added Crown Carbon Reduction Technologies in Gillette, Wyoming, in a deal with Merit Capital Partners.
Strickland Oil, based in Pooler, Georgia, has serviced Savannah and the surrounding region for 47 years, delivering commercial fuel and lubricants, as well as operating a cardlock location in Pooler.
“Colonial Oil is excited about this opportunity to add customers in our home market, as well as adding new team members to the Colonial family,” said Chris Ingram, vice president at Colonial Oil. “We have grown our commercial fuel and lubricants business substantially in the last three years and feel like we have a great team in place to support continued growth.”
With strategic supply and logistics operations throughout the Southeast, Midwest, and East Coast regions, Colonial Oil boasts an extensive network that provides petroleum, marine, and lubricants services throughout the United States.
“For nearly 70 years, Strickland Oil Company has focused on customer service and quality work,” said Kent Strickland, co-owner at Strickland Oil. “We feel that Colonial Oil is the perfect fit for our customers as it is also a family-run business with the personal service that customers deserve. We would also like to thank our loyal customers and employees for their many years of service and wish everyone a blessed and prosperous future.”
“We are excited to add Crown Carbon Reduction Technologies to our family of companies,” said Christian Demere, president and CEO of Colonial Group. “We look forward to working with Doug and the entire Crown team in supporting their continued growth and success.”
Crown will operate as a standalone business of 34 employees and remain headquartered in Wyoming, Colonial said. Its division president, Doug Simmons, will report to Brett Giesick, chief operating officer at Colonial. The addition of Crown bolsters Colonial’s diversified energy and port-related chemical distribution portfolio, Demere said.
“We’re excited to become part of the Colonial team,” Simmons said. “The strong cultural fit will provide numerous opportunities for the team, and we see tremendous growth potential ahead that will deliver significant value to our customers and our suppliers.”