CSW Industrials, Inc. and Pennzoil-Quaker State Company dba SOPUS products announced the execution of a definitive agreement under which Whitmore Manufacturing, LLC (“Whitmore”), a wholly owned subsidiary of CSWI, and Shell will form a joint venture (“JV”) to market, distribute, and sell lubricants, greases, coolants, reliability products, and related industrial services to the North America rail and U.S. mining sectors. The JV, which will be named Shell & Whitmore Reliability Solutions, LLC, is expected to be owned 50% by each of Whitmore and Shell. The JV will combine the strengths of Whitmore and Shell to offer multi-sector expertise; advanced equipment technologies and services; and an integrated product portfolio that meets the unique needs of companies engaged in North America Class I, II, and III rail (excluding municipal transit systems) and U.S. mining (excluding quarries). The JV will be staffed by Whitmore and Shell sales and technical professionals with extensive experience in the rail and mining sectors, enabling the successful transfer of relationships, technical knowledge, and sector expertise. The products manufactured and sold by the JV will benefit from Shell’s and Whitmore’s proprietary industrial lubricant and grease formulations and technologies. A key part of the JV’s success will be its manufacturing agreement with Whitmore. The JV’s production assets will be co-located at Whitmore’s Rockwall, Texas facility and operated by Whitmore, where the JV will benefit from Whitmore’s scale and expertise. This structure is expected to optimize Whitmore’s existing manufacturing capacity through increased production output to be contributed by both Shell and Whitmore, and to position the JV for future growth. An additional benefit of the companies’ collaboration is an expanded commercial relationship between Whitmore and Shell, which is expected to significantly broaden the reach of Whitmore’s reliability products through Shell’s extensive distribution channels throughout the Americas (excluding the JV’s business sectors).