Specialty Welding and Turnarounds Announces Acquisition of Hydroprocessing Associates

GONZALES, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Specialty Welding and Turnarounds, LLC (SWAT), a leading provider of specialty welding and other highly technical services to the oil and gas refinery, biodiesel, petrochemical, and industrial markets, announced today the acquisition of Hydroprocessing Associates, LLC (HPA). Headquartered in Moss Point, MS, and with substantial operations across the South-Central and Western U.S., HPA provides specialized catalyst handling services for oil and gas refineries and petrochemical facilities. As part of the transaction, SWAT will also acquire Breathing Systems Inc. (BSI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of HPA which provides manufacturing, maintenance, and repair for NIOSH-approved life support systems worn by workers conducting catalyst change-out services.

“The addition of HPA into the SWAT platform enables us to offer an additional highly specialized and mission-critical service,” said Johnny Holifield, Founder & CEO of SWAT. “We will now be able to provide high-quality catalyst handling services as a core part of our differentiated offering. We’re excited to extend the SWAT brand into this attractive market.”

“SWAT’s consistent focus on customer service, execution quality, and safety make it a perfect match for HPA,” said Rodgers Thibodaux, General Manager of HPA. “With SWAT, we anticipate tapping into a significant base of resources that will allow us to further leverage our highly-trained workforce and proprietary technology to better serve our customers.” At close, Mr. Thibodaux will lead the newly formed division as Vice President of SWAT Catalyst Services.

SWAT was acquired by the private equity firm ORIX Capital Partners in January 2020, in partnership with Hastings Equity Partners and the SWAT management team. HPA represents the partnership’s first add-on acquisition as SWAT executes on a multi-pronged growth strategy.

“We continue to be impressed with SWAT’s commitment to being an industry-leading provider,” said Mohammed Khalil, Director at ORIX Capital Partners. “Expanding SWAT’s service offering is an opportunity to demonstrate to both new and existing clients SWAT’s best-in-class capabilities.”

Specialty Welding and Turnarounds

Founded in 2014, SWAT has evolved into an elite and trusted provider of highly specialized turnaround services with an industry-leading safety record, superior execution capabilities, and a wide range of specialty welding and mechanical service offerings. The company currently has master service agreements with more than 50 U.S. facilities, including some of the world’s largest oil refineries, and maintains multiple touchpoints across its key customer relationships. SWAT has a diverse geographic presence with offices in Louisiana, Texas, and California, a coverage area spanning more than 14 states and a nationwide craft labor database of over 4,000 highly experienced professionals.

Hydroprocessing Associates

Founded in 2005, HPA initially formed as an affiliated entity of HPA Global, a global full-service catalyst and reactor maintenance company. Two years later, HPA was formed as a U.S. entity and began building its business out of Moss Point, MS, performing turnarounds for gulf coast refineries and later securing a national MSA with Chevron and adding customers including BP, Citgo, P66, and Exxon Mobil. In 2014, HPA acquired BSI, an independent manufacturer of NIOSH approved life support systems supplying the global catalyst industry – HPA was an existing BSI customer exclusively using their lock-on helmets and life support units.

ORIX Capital Partners

ORIX Capital Partners (OCP), the operationally-focused private equity team of ORIX Advisers, LLC and a wholly-owned subsidiary of ORIX Corporation USA (ORIX USA), seeks to make direct equity investments in established middle-market companies throughout North America, spanning a variety of industries, including industrial services, business services, and general industrials. For more information about OCP and its capabilities, please visit www.orixcapitalpartners.com.

Hastings Equity Partners

Hastings Equity Partners is a private equity firm focused on investing in lower, middle-market industrial service and business services segments. Hastings' approach is to leverage the firm's managers and investors' extensive operational experience, many of whom are active or former CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies. In addition, due to the firm's expanding portfolio of industrial service and business service companies, it is able to share best practices, technology trends, and contacts across its platform to ensure that all of its investments benefit.