The HCS Group last Tuesday completed its acquisition of Castrol’s 50 per cent stake in the two companies’ Electrical Oil Services (EOS) joint venture. This means that the HCS Group, a leading global manufacturer of high-quality hydrocarbon and chemical specialty products, is now the sole shareholder in the company based in Stanlow in the UK.

Electrical Oil Services Ltd. is the UK's leading supplier of electrical insulating oils, otherwise known as transformer oils, both new/unused and re-refined, and associated services to the electricity supply industry, the electrical engineering industry, and energy-intensive, high voltage, industrial electricity users.

“The UK is a traditional and important market for us. We will continually expand our technological competence here during the coming years, especially in our Exploration and Oil Services industry cluster. We will therefore also strengthen our expertise in providing environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions for the respective customers in this important area. The acquisition of EOS is an important step in this regard
and optimally complements our growth strategy for the entire European market,” says Uwe Nickel, CEO of the HCS Group.

The merger with the HCS Group also opens up considerable potential for EOS. “We can now draw on the Group’s sales network and its technological expertise at the various sites around the world. This will enable us to develop new sales markets for our products and continually expand our product range,” says Tom Larney, Managing Director of EOS.

Based at the UK's only dedicated transformer oil reclamation plant at Stanlow, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, this is also the central storage point for the distribution of reclaimed and unused mineral insulating oils. EOS specialises in the reclamation of used insulating oils from transformers, switchgear and other oil-filled electrical plant to BS148 condition. Additional services such as on-site, in-situ, transformer oil reconditioning (purifying) plants known as Mobile Processing Units (MPUs), in-situ Mobile Regeneration Unit (MRU) and the TransTest transformer oil analysis service are also operated from Stanlow.

The HCS Group is one of the leading manufacturers of high quality Hydrocarbons and Specialties. The products are sold globally under the traditional brands of Haltermann Carless and ETS Racing Fuels. HCS Group is owned by H.I.G. Europe, the European affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a leading global private equity firm focused on middle market companies.