Key Takeaways
- • Shrieve Chemical Company, a Gemspring Capital portfolio company, has acquired Research Solutions Group (RSG), an Alabama-based supplier, blender and recycler of industrial solvents.
- • RSG carries more than 1,100 chemicals and operates branches in Pelham and Irvington, Alabama, Tupelo, Mississippi, LaVergne, Tennessee, plus a warehouse in Lafayette, Louisiana.
- • The deal adds solvent blending, solvent recycling and a regional truck fleet to Shrieve's platform, extending its footprint across Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana.
- • Shrieve's acquisition is the latest add-on under its single-asset continuation fund led by StepStone Group, which has now completed at least five add-ons since November 2024.
- • Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed in the source material.
Summary
Shrieve Chemical Company, a portfolio company of Gemspring Capital, has acquired Research Solutions Group (RSG), a family-owned Alabama business that supplies, blends and recycles industrial solvents. The source material does not disclose the purchase price or other transaction terms.
RSG sells and delivers liquid chemicals used by factories, body shops, print shops and boat builders to thin paint, clean equipment and strip grease. The company carries more than 1,100 chemicals, including alcohols, ketones, glycol ethers and chlorinated solvents, and sells under its Falcon Cleaning Solutions, SureFlow and Yukon brands. It also produces custom solvent blends to customer specification, many formulated to be free of hazardous air pollutants and low in volatile organic compounds, the emissions classes limited under federal air-quality rules. Its customers include automotive aftermarket businesses, original equipment manufacturers, printers, housing and fiberglass manufacturers, metalworking shops and marine companies. Its environmental services group collects and disposes of hazardous and non-hazardous waste and recycles spent solvent by distillation. Through its Small Bulk Solutions program, RSG installs storage tanks at customer plants at no charge and refills them on regular truck routes.
RSG was founded in 1971 as Research Solvents & Chemicals by Joe Miller in Pelham, Alabama. Jeff Miller, who joined in 1978, succeeded his father as president and chief executive officer in 1996. Jeff Miller said the company believes Shrieve is "the ideal partner for the next chapter of RSG's growth," citing shared commitment to customer service, technical expertise and operational excellence.
Shrieve, headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, distributes industrial and specialty chemicals, makes specialty lubricants and supplies chemistry for oil and gas operations. It markets nearly 1,500 products in more than 40 countries. CEO Joey Gullion, who took the role in September 2025, said the acquisition "expands our geographic reach" and strengthens the operating platform. Gemspring acquired Shrieve in December 2019 with management, and in October 2024 moved it into a single-asset continuation fund led by StepStone Group, with capital reserved for further acquisitions. Prior add-ons under that vehicle include Connection Chemical (November 2024), Carbon Chemicals Group (June 2025), and FIS Chemicals and Vertec BioSolvents (April 2026).
The deal reflects a broader sector dynamic in which distributors that blend to specification, collect waste and return reclaimed solvent become single suppliers across both ends of a plant's chemical use, amid federal limits on hazardous air pollutant and VOC emissions. The Alliance for Chemical Distribution counts more than 400 member companies employing about 20,000 people, with a direct economic impact above $27 billion. Gemspring, founded in 2015 by CEO Bret Wiener and based in Westport, Connecticut, invests in middle-market companies with revenues up to $2.0 billion. It closed Gemspring Capital Fund III with $1.7 billion in January 2023 and Gemspring Growth Solutions Fund II with $1.1 billion in September 2025.
RSG sells and delivers liquid chemicals used by factories, body shops, print shops and boat builders to thin paint, clean equipment and strip grease. The company carries more than 1,100 chemicals, including alcohols, ketones, glycol ethers and chlorinated solvents, and sells under its Falcon Cleaning Solutions, SureFlow and Yukon brands. It also produces custom solvent blends to customer specification, many formulated to be free of hazardous air pollutants and low in volatile organic compounds, the emissions classes limited under federal air-quality rules. Its customers include automotive aftermarket businesses, original equipment manufacturers, printers, housing and fiberglass manufacturers, metalworking shops and marine companies. Its environmental services group collects and disposes of hazardous and non-hazardous waste and recycles spent solvent by distillation. Through its Small Bulk Solutions program, RSG installs storage tanks at customer plants at no charge and refills them on regular truck routes.
RSG was founded in 1971 as Research Solvents & Chemicals by Joe Miller in Pelham, Alabama. Jeff Miller, who joined in 1978, succeeded his father as president and chief executive officer in 1996. Jeff Miller said the company believes Shrieve is "the ideal partner for the next chapter of RSG's growth," citing shared commitment to customer service, technical expertise and operational excellence.
Shrieve, headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, distributes industrial and specialty chemicals, makes specialty lubricants and supplies chemistry for oil and gas operations. It markets nearly 1,500 products in more than 40 countries. CEO Joey Gullion, who took the role in September 2025, said the acquisition "expands our geographic reach" and strengthens the operating platform. Gemspring acquired Shrieve in December 2019 with management, and in October 2024 moved it into a single-asset continuation fund led by StepStone Group, with capital reserved for further acquisitions. Prior add-ons under that vehicle include Connection Chemical (November 2024), Carbon Chemicals Group (June 2025), and FIS Chemicals and Vertec BioSolvents (April 2026).
The deal reflects a broader sector dynamic in which distributors that blend to specification, collect waste and return reclaimed solvent become single suppliers across both ends of a plant's chemical use, amid federal limits on hazardous air pollutant and VOC emissions. The Alliance for Chemical Distribution counts more than 400 member companies employing about 20,000 people, with a direct economic impact above $27 billion. Gemspring, founded in 2015 by CEO Bret Wiener and based in Westport, Connecticut, invests in middle-market companies with revenues up to $2.0 billion. It closed Gemspring Capital Fund III with $1.7 billion in January 2023 and Gemspring Growth Solutions Fund II with $1.1 billion in September 2025.
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