Croda purchases BJ Services site in Lamar Township

LAMAR TOWNSHIP, PA – The massive BJ Services site in the Lamar Township Business Park did not remain on the for-sale list for long. The Record has learned that Croda recently reached agreement to purchase the sprawling, 38-acre site, part of an expansion of its local operations.

A formal announcement on the purchase is expected soon, but The Record has learned on good authority the sale has been consummated. Details on Croda plans for the new location were not immediately available.

Croda currently operates from along the Draketown Road in Bald Eagle Township and last year had seen an expansion of its super refined oil refining capacity. The company produces products for the pharmaceutical and personal care industry.

An international firm, Croda had announced last July a major acquisition, Avanti Polar Lipids, Inc. which has been operating at one site in Alabama. An announcement at that time said Avanti makes lipids used in delivery systems for complex therapeutic drugs. There has been unconfirmed local talk that Avanti could be a part of an expanded local Croda presence.

The BJ Services location has had a checkered history since it was first occupied by Baker Hughes nearly a decade ago. Baker Hughes shut down its operations there in 2016. BJ Services moved into the Lamar Township facility in the summer of 2018 after closing its Clarksburg, W. Va., plant. Baker Hughes originally built the facility in 2011 for approximately $40 million. At their peak, both companies had around 200 employees based at the oil field services site.

Texas-based BJ Services filed for bankruptcy in July of last year. The BJ site had subsequently been listed with a State College broker, the asking price reported to be in the $5 million range. Baker Hughes had paid the Clinton County Economic Partnership $2.25 million for the tract of land in 2012.