Kian Capital-backed SPATCO Acquires Petro Supply on the Heels of McKinney Petroleum Acquisition

In under three years, SPATCO has tripled EBITDA via organic growth and strategic acquisitions of complementary, market-leading businesses.

Kian Capital-backed SPATCO Energy Solutions (“SPATCO”), a forward-thinking infrastructure services provider of innovative turnkey solutions for petroleum, environmental and EV market segments, completed the acquisition of Petro Supply, a leading distributor of petroleum equipment in the Mid-Atlantic region. Combined with the acquisition of McKinney Petroleum Equipment in January of 2023, the platform is expanding its geographic reach while bolstering its dominant stronghold in the Southeast.

Founded in 1971 by Galen Heaps, Petro Supply specializes in the sale and distribution of petroleum equipment, including parts and materials for the construction and maintenance of gas stations, convenience stores and petroleum & chemical handling facilities. A family-owned and operated business, Galen’s son Brandon Heaps worked side-by-side with his father to grow Petro Supply into one of the largest petroleum equipment distributors in the mid-Atlantic. The acquisition marks SPATCO’s entry into the Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey markets and introduces full-service capabilities to Petro Supply’s established and prospective customer base.

“My father built Petro Supply on the foundation of hard work and two sayings — ‘do what is right’ and ‘treat everyone as you want to be treated’,” said Brandon, who will lead SPATCO’s Mid-Atlantic region. “I am beyond proud of how we’ve grown the business together and excited to take Petro Supply to the next level with a partner who shares the same values and commitment to our people. As our industry evolves, we are confident in SPATCO’s strategy and vision to continuously innovate to meet our customers’ needs.”

Earlier this year, SPATCO completed the acquisition of McKinney Petroleum Equipment, a market-leading single-source petroleum provider in Alabama, further solidifying its position in the Southeast with a strong Gulf Coast presence. McKinney Petroleum President Kevin McKinney said, “I’m excited to be a part of such a high-growth platform and look forward to leveraging SPATCO’s resources, systems and expert training programs to build on our capabilities here in the Gulf Coast and beyond. As a third-generation family-owned business, it was important to align with a company that respected our history and would put our employees and customers first. We found that with SPATCO.”

“We are proud of the differentiated platform we’ve developed and that highly-respected business owners like Galen, Brandon and Kevin are entrusting SPATCO as a partner to continue their legacies,” said SPATCO President & CEO John Force. “The strength of their respective teams is undeniable and will provide a huge leap forward in our strategy to be the top integrated platform in the country for the petroleum convenience store and EV markets.”

The energy infrastructure and services industry is highly fragmented with a significant amount of consolidation and platform-building opportunity within what is a resilient and growing sector. Organic growth and a strong management team — along with four tuck-in acquisitions — have led to SPATCO more than tripling EBITDA since Kian’s initial 2020 investment. SPATCO now has over 700 employees with 400+ technicians in 26 branches across 17 states in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.

Kian Co-Founder and Partner Kevin McCarthy commented, “Based on the progress made thus far and what is on the horizon, we believe SPATCO is uniquely positioned to address the challenge of maintaining and servicing the current fuel station infrastructure while rapidly deploying EV-charging capabilities. As technology continues to drive innovation in the energy infrastructure and equipment services industry, our focus will remain the same — on advancing the team while investing in cutting-edge technology, expanding service capabilities and broadening our geographic reach.”

SPATCO is actively seeking partnerships with founders in the energy infrastructure and services space. Business owners interested in learning more should contact David Duke, Partner, Business Development at Kian, at dduke@kiancapital.com.

Kian is SPATCO’s lead investor along with co-investors RF Investment Partners and Apogem Capital. Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A. acted as Kian’s legal advisor.

About SPATCO Energy Solutions

SPATCO is a forward-thinking supplier, installer and maintenance provider of innovative turnkey solutions for fueling stations and EV charging infrastructure. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, SPATCO has 26 additional office locations across the Southeast with service and support across the United States. The company is one of Dover Fueling Solutions’ largest distributors of Wayne products and offers complete environmental compliance, assessment and remediation services. With over 85 years of experience, SPATCO employs a differentiated service-oriented model on behalf of a diverse and longstanding customer base that includes national and regional convenience store operators, major oil companies, commercial fleet and military fueling facilities, national and regional trucking companies, regional oil jobbers and commercial bulk petroleum plants. To learn more, visit www.spatco.com.

About Petro Supply

Founded in 1971 by Galen Heaps, Petro Supply specializes in the sale and distribution of petroleum equipment including parts and materials for the construction and maintenance of gas stations, convenience stores and petroleum & chemical handling facilities. Representing many outstanding manufacturers, Petro Supply helps customers with projects such as repairing pumps, upgrading tanks, equipping c-stores and building new fueling systems. To learn more, visit www.petrosupply.com.

About McKinney Petroleum Equipment

From a sole proprietorship founded in 1933 by Wallace R. McKinney Jr., McKinney Petroleum Equipment has steadily grown to be one of the Southeast’s leading petroleum and industrial equipment suppliers. The company’s marketing area includes South Alabama, the Florida panhandle and Southeast Mississippi. At present, McKinney Petroleum Equipment represents more than 50 manufacturers, enabling the company to provide a wide variety of equipment currently used in petroleum marketing. The company specializes in the installation, sales and service of petroleum, commercial and industrial equipment and systems. To learn more, visit www.mckinneypetroleum.com.

About Kian Capital Partners

At Kian, we forge partnerships to ignite growth and build enduring value. Our goal is to provide flexible financial resources and additional operational horsepower to scale middle-market businesses, realize aspirations and deliver long-term investment returns through genuine partnership. Proud to be recognized on Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investors list for three consecutive years, Kian is a private investment firm with $425 million of capital under management and a focus on four core industry sectors: consumer, services, value added distribution and specialty manufacturing. Our team of seasoned investors has over 100 years of collective experience providing transformational capital solutions and board-level strategic and operational guidance to founder/owner operated businesses. To learn more, visit www.kiancapital.com.

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