By Tim Sullivan
 
A Western Canada waste management company has agreed to acquire the assets of Mohawk Lubricants Ltd., including the world’s first commercial rerefinery for used oil.
 
The Canadian $9 million (U.S. $5.8 million) acquisition, expected to close Sept. 1, would give Calgary-based Newalta Corp. possession of Mohawk’s North Vancouver, B.C., rerefinery, which has capacity to process 600 barrels per day of used lubricating oil and to produce 500 b/d of rerefined base oil. Newalta would also obtain Mohawk’s collection network and all other assets of the business, which generates annual revenues of Canadian $20 million.
 
Newalta provides industrial waste management services, including recycling of wastewater, plastics and solvents, contaminated fuels, drilling wastes and paint wastes and cans. The company already recycles used engine oil and other lubricants into fuels for non-road applications.
 
Industrial Vice President Craig Wilkie said Mohawk’s rerefinery is a significant acquisition despite its small size.
 
“Because it produces products for the lubricant market, it gives us a complete set of processing options,” Wilkie said. He added that Newalta has committed to expand into Eastern Canada and that it may build additional rerefineries there.
 
Mohawk sells some of its rerefined base oil to lubricant blenders and uses the rest to make its own automotive and industrial lubes. It operates seven collection depots and a fleet of 30 vehicles in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. A spokesman for Mohawk’s privately owned parent, Bell Corp., refused to discuss its reasons for selling the assets.
 
Mohawk was established in 1979 and built the rerefinery in 1983. The facility uses a distillation and hydrotreatment process later employed at larger plants still operated by companies such as Safety-Kleen and Evergreen.