B&G was founded by Xavier Grilletta Sr in 1946. It now owns over 100 cranes, include mobiles, crawlers, and lattice boom truck cranes, with capacities up to 825t, as well as a fleet of over 50 vehicles. It serves customers within 150mi of its New Orleans and Baton Rouge facilities.
Sterling Group partner Kent Wallace, explained, “We’ve invested in a number of businesses involved in maintenance related work for refineries and petrochemicals over the past 10 years. We were introduced to the family who own B&G Crane. Some of the owners were looking to retire, while others wanted to stay on with the business. This deal will allow those who want to leave to achieve liquidity, and those who want to remain to do so.
“The business has a tremendous reputation in the Louisiana area. They’ve got significant customer loyalty, good equipment and good people. Their entire service offering is attractive to customers in Texas and Mississippi too, outside of their core market.
“There are a number of their customers in Louisiana who have facilities in other geographic areas not currently served by B&G. In the past, certain of these customers have inquired as whether B&G would have interest in serving their facilities in other areas. We see significant opportunities for B&G to expand into other geographic areas, such as the Texas Gulf Coast and the Mississippi Gulf Coast areas, to serve both existing and new customers’ facilities in those areas. .
“More than 80% of their business is in maintenance of refineries and petrochemical plants. They’re not dependant on levels of commercial and residential construction, petrochemical and refinery customers need them year in, year out, for maintenance.
“To the extent that there are growth opportunities, we anticipate adding to their fleet over the next five years.
“Xavier Grilletta Jr, the son of the company founder, has been CEO since 2007, and will continue on with the business, as will the majority of other family members and senior management.”
Grilletta Jr, said, “B&G has spent over 60 years building a blueprint for success in the crane and heavy rigging industry throughout Southern Louisiana. We are thrilled to combine forces with The Sterling Group and duplicate this success in other regions of the Gulf Coast. Our combined experience and resources create great opportunities for growth and continued success in the industry”
