News

Castle Harlan said April 17 that it agreed to buy the North American production equipment manufacturing assets of Exterran Corp. Financial terms weren’t announced. The new company, called Titan Production Equipment, will design, engineer and make oil and gas production equipment used to separate, process and treat hydrocarbon streams at the wellhead, gathering and processing stages of production.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, April 17, 2018 –Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York private equity investment firm, announced today it had through an affiliate signed a definitive agreement to acquire the North American production equipment manufacturing assets of Exterran Corporation (NYSE: EXTN). 

The newly established company will be named “Titan Production Equipment,” and overnight will be a market leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of oil and gas production equipment used to separate, process and treat hydrocarbon streams at the wellhead, gathering and processing stages of production. The business specializes in custom and made-to-order products, including two- and three-phase separators, as well as glycol regeneration dehydrators. The sale is expected to close in the summer of 2018. 

Former and current managers of the assets will be investors in Titan Production Equipment and operate the new business going forward. Chris Werner, who was a former officer of Exterran and formerly SVP of Global Operations & CEO of Exterran Italy, will become Chief Executive Officer of Titan Production Equipment when the transaction closes.

Eric Schwartz, Managing Director of Castle Harlan, said, “The production equipment market currently faces constrained capacity, in which customers experience long lead-times, limited engineering support and product quality issues. We are excited to partner with Chris Werner and the rest of the Titan management team to address these challenges as a market leader in the industry with a completely dedicated focus on the design, engineering and manufacturing of high quality production equipment.”

The acquisition includes Exterran’s 210,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Columbus, Texas, which has the capacity to manufacture over 4,000 units per year and is recognized as one of the premier facilities in the industry with a fit-for-purpose layout for high volume, complex manufacturing. The acquisition also includes Exterran’s entire portfolio of production equipment engineering drawings and designs that is broadly considered to be the industry standard for production equipment. As part of the transaction, Titan Production Equipment will become Exterran’s preferred supplier of production equipment throughout the U.S. and Canada. 

Titan Production Equipment plans to continue employing the highly skilled workforce that has historically been associated with Exterran’s production equipment business, and plans to immediately ramp up production at the Columbus facility to address high customer demand. 

Chris Werner added, “Exterran developed a strong market reputation for high quality production equipment manufacturing and engineering over an extended period of time, and their historical success can importantly be attributed to the strong local workforce in the Columbus, Texas community, which is known for its deep skill set and product and design knowledge. We are going to maintain this continuity in both labor and experience as the business ramps up production, while always staying focused on providing the highest level of service and quality to our customers.”

Castle Harlan has a historical relationship with Exterran, beginning when Castle Harlan acquired Universal Compression, Inc. from Tidewater Inc. in 1998. Universal completed a public offering of its common stock in 2000, and merged with Hanover Compressor Company in 2007 to form Exterran Holdings (EXH).

About Castle Harlan:

Castle Harlan, founded in 1987, has invested in controlling interests in and the development of middle-market companies in North America, Australia and Europe. Its team of senior investment professionals has completed over 50 acquisitions since its inception with a total value in excess of $11 billion. The firm traces its roots to the start of the institutionalized private equity business in the late 1960s. Additional information about Castle Harlan is at www.castleharlan.com.

About Titan Production Equipment:

Titan Production Equipment was founded in 2018. As a 100% production equipment-focused company, Titan provides a high level of service, quality and capabilities to fulfill customers’ equipment needs around the separation, processing and treating of oil and gas hydrocarbon streams. Titan offers deep engineering expertise and has capacity to manufacture at high volumes in an ASME-certified facility that produces both pre-designed and custom separators, heater treaters, glycol dehydration units, as well as a wide range of other production equipment products. Additional information about Titan Production Equipment can be found at www.titanpeq.com.
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