Kenan Advantage Group Acquires Jack B. Kelley, Inc.

NORTH CANTON, Ohio, Sept. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Kenan Advantage Group ("KAG"), North America's largest tank truck transporter and logistics provider to the petroleum, specialty products and merchant gas industries, announced that it completed the acquisition of Jack B. Kelley, Inc. ("JBK").  JBK is the largest independent transporter of industrial gases in the United States.  The transaction closed on August 31, 2011.

Founded in 1946, the Amarillo, Texas-based company transports nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, argon, helium, carbon dioxide and liquid natural gas (LNG) across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.  These gases are used for numerous applications within a diverse range of end markets, including metals and mining, chemical, food and beverage, healthcare, electronics, energy production and many others.  

According to Dennis Nash, Chief Executive Officer of KAG, "The acquisition of Jack B. Kelley is a perfect strategic fit to our newly formed Merchant Gas Group.  Coupled with the acquisition of Quakertown, PA-based Cryogenic Transportation, Inc., in December of 2010, we are now the largest, most qualified and safest transporter of industrial gases in the U.S.  JBK and CTI are great examples of our strategy to acquire only 'best-in-class' companies."

With these two acquisitions, the company's Merchant Gas Group now has a network of 25 strategically located, full-service terminals across the country, a fleet of approximately 470 cryogenic and specialty trailers and over 500 drivers trained and dedicated to the merchant gas industry.  

"This is a very specialized business that cannot be entered without an established core competency, which is why we chose to build this platform around the two most experienced carriers in the business," continued Mr. Nash.  "With the knowledge and expertise gained through these two companies, we expect to expand this platform by continuing to aggressively grow our core industrial gas business as well as the LNG and CNG (compressed natural gas) distribution business. We are very excited about the opportunities this new platform brings to our company."

Mark Davis, President of JBK, remarked, "This is a tremendous opportunity for JBK, its employees and customers.  The Kelley family has established a 66-year legacy of safety and service in the industrial gas distribution industry and we look forward to continuing that tradition as part of KAG.  The combination aligns two industry-leading organizations and provides scale and incremental capital to enable JBK to continue to aggressively pursue strategic growth opportunities.  This is truly a great transaction for all involved."

David Boucher, CEO of CTI said, "The addition of JBK to the Merchant Gas Group brings significant equipment capacity and management expertise to this important and growing sector of our business. The combination of CTI and JBK within KAG further underscores our commitment and ability to service our industrial gas customers."

Kenan Advantage Group (www.thekag.com) operates nationwide through its four groups consisting of the Fuels Delivery Group, Specialty Products Group, Merchant Gas Group and the Logistics Group.  Its subsidiaries across the country include: Advantage Tank Lines, BXI, Cryogenic Transportation, DistTech, Jack B. Kelley, KAG West, Kenan Transport, Klemm Tank Lines, North Canton Transfer, Petro-Chemical Transport and Transport Service.  KAG's fleet consists of 4,200 power units and 5,800 trailers.  KAG also provides specialized supply chain logistics services through KAG Logistics and KAG Ethanol Logistics (www.kaglogistics.com).

SOURCE Kenan Advantage Group

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