One of Red Deer’s homemade success stories has been scooped up by an American company.
Red Flame Industries Inc., which was founded in 1996 by Jared Sayers, has been acquired by Bolttech Mannings Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pa. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Edgar Industrial Park business provides specialty plant, pipeline, and engineering and certification services for the oil, gas, petrochemical and renewable resource industries.
It grew out of Sayers’ skill at performing “hot taps” — the process of installing fittings onto oil and gas lines that are still operating.
The company later added other services, including non-destructive testing of equipment like pipelines.
In 2002, Sayers received the Business Development Bank of Canada’s Young Entrepreneur Award for Alberta.
Bolttech Mannings said in a release that Sayers, who is CEO and president of Red Flame, will continue to lead the company from Red Deer.
In a subsequent release by Grey Mountain Partners, a Boulder, Col.- based private equity firm that’s affiliated with Bolttech Mannings, Sayers was quoted as saying “the combined company will be able to seize the tremendous growth opportunities in front of us, broadening our product offering, enhancing our supply chain, and fostering our relationships in the oil and gas industry.”
Bolttech Mannings specializes in industrial bolting, induction services and on-site machining for the oil, gas, petrochemical, steel, power generation and offshore industries. It has 24 field offices in the United States and Canada.
Bolttech Mannings CEO Ed Komoski said his company’s acquisition of Red Flame will improve its access to the Canadian market, and give it a new service line and different technology. He added that the two companies are a good fit for each other, since they provide complementary services within the same industries.
Bolttech Mannings said it is actively pursuing acquisitions, particularly companies that provide bolting, heat treating, hot tapping, non-destructive testing and other niche services.