OFS-backed VanZandt Acquires Criswell

7/13/17

VanZandt Controls, LLC, an OFS Energy Fund portfolio company, has acquired the assets of D.A. Criswell Sales, Inc. The acquisition is a significant step in advancing VanZandt’s goal of becoming a market-leading provider of premier valve automation and instrumentation components to the energy industry. The addition of Criswell expands VanZandt’s geographic footprint and diversifies its customer base.

Criswell was founded in 1992 by David Criswell in Canyon, Texas. Criswell specializes in the packaging, distribution, and servicing of automated valves. The Criswell team brings over 43 years of combined experience supplying valves and automation equipment to numerous industries such as the oil and gas production, pipeline, chemical, and power industries. Criswell possesses a loyal customer base that includes Fortune 500 companies with operations in the Texas panhandle. It also maintains exclusive distributor agreements with select vendors, providing Criswell with a competitive advantage relative to others in the valve automation industry in the form of lower prices and faster delivery times. The Company has regional sales offices in Midland, Texas and El Paso, Texas.

“We are thrilled to add David, Alexia, and the rest of the Criswell team to VanZandt,” said Larry Richards, VanZandt’s President and CEO. “David and his team have a reputation in the valve automation industry for providing high-quality products and services and bring with them a wealth of knowledge and expertise to VanZandt.”

Since its founding in January 2015, VanZandt has quickly grown into one of the top providers of automated valves in west Texas. It serves blue chip upstream, midstream, and downstream customers active in the construction of energy-related infrastructure throughout the Permian Basin. VanZandt was acquired by OFS in partnership with Larry Richards and Dave Latch, former senior management team members at Hy-Bon Engineering and Key Energy Services, in mid-2017. In acquiring VanZandt, OFS, Richards, and Latch planned to utilize the Company as a platform to create a market-leading provider of premier automated valve, control, and instrumentation components that have demand across multiple packaged energy products and in the buildout of energy infrastructure. The acquisition of Criswell furthers this vision via the expansion of VanZandt’s distribution network into new geographic segments and the diversification of VanZandt’s customer base through the addition of customers in the midstream and downstream energy verticals.

“Criswell is a strong strategic fit with the VanZandt platform. The acquisition is a tangible step in the execution of the growth plan we underwrote to in making our investment in VanZandt,” said Jerad McMayon, Partner at OFS.

About VanZandt

VanZandt Controls, LLC specializes in valve automation, valve sourcing, instrumentation, and process controls. The Company is headquartered in Odessa, Texas. For more information, please visit www.vanzandtcontrols.com.

About OFS

OFS Energy Fund is a Houston-based private equity firm specializing in acquisitions and recapitalizations of middle-market companies in the energy industry with enterprise values between $5 million and $100 million. For more information, please visit www.ofsfund.com.

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