Quality Distribution, Inc. (NASDAQ: QLTY) said Monday, April 2, that its wholly owned subsidiary, Quality Carriers, Inc., has purchased the operating assets of Trojan Vacuum Services from Wiley Lease Co. Ltd. Headquartered in Pleasanton, Texas, Trojan provides transportation services to the oil and gas industry, mainly in the Eagle Ford Shale play.

Trojan Vacuum Services primarily hauls flowback and production water for energy customers.

Quality CEO Gary Enzor said that this acquisition was important in expanding the company’s presence in the Eagle Ford Shale.

John McAvoy, Vice President of Affiliate Relations with Quality said, “We are pleased to announce that QDI has acquired the assets and associated revenues of Trojan Vacuum Services located in Pleasanton, Texas. Trojan currently services the energy sector of the transportation industry, primarily hauling water for various energy companies in the Eagle Ford Shale. The new terminal will operate as QCER terminal #147. We will manage and operate this terminal as Trojan Vacuum Services, a division of QCER, to take full advantage of the good reputation for customer service Trojan Vac has developed over the years with regional energy customers and vendors. Belo Wiley, previous owner of Trojan, will assist with overseeing the company transition. The associated revenue base is approximately $13 million annually. Please welcome Belo and his entire Trojan team to the QC family and offer your support as we proceed with transitioning and on-boarding the Trojan personnel, drivers, equipment, contracts, A/P vendors, etc into our systems over the next few days.”

Belo Wiley at the Gossett Disposal Well site southeast of Pleasanton LEONZABAVA/PLEASANTONEXPRESS Quality Carriers, Inc. will begin building a six-bay terminal in Dobrowolski shortly.

The number of Trojan Vac trucks servicing the area tripled in the last couple of years and Wiley said, “My fleet grew from 10 to 37 trucks due to the Eagle Ford Shale activities. Quality Carriers out of Florida is the largest bulk chemical hauler in the United States.”

This growth and resulting recent acquisition of a local firm by a major firm is a first for local businesses in Atascosa County.

Wiley said, “They want me on board for at least twelve months and I’ll probably be with them even longer than that. I’ll be working for them on a consulting basis. I retained the disposal wells I have, namely the Vrana disposal well in Dobrowolski and the Gossett disposal well, southeast of Pleasanton. Also, I kept my frac tank business along with my roustabout operations as part of Wiley Lease Services. Shortly, I’ll be drilling an additional Gossett well and another disposal well south of the Pleasanton Industrial Park on the Stapp place. All of these wells are in the Edwards formation, about 8,500 feet deep, well below fresh water tables. There are also multiple layers of pipe and cement through the A recent photo taken beside a Trojan Vac truck, in front, L to R, Ruben Lopez, Frank Rice, Leo Leos, Robert Salazar, Pete Contreras, Kathryn Wiley (Belo Wiley’s mother), Irma Pesqueda, Dwight Morris, Mike Luna, Ricky Krauskopf, Gerardo Martinez, Hector Uribe and Ruben Recio. Top row, Shirley and Belo Wiley, Gerald Rankin and Armando Vidales. water table to ensure protection.”

“I’m going to be drilling additional disposal wells in the areas of the Eagle Ford where Quality Carriers wants to move into,” said Wiley.

“The Texas Railroad Commission regularly checks these disposal wells to make sure there’s no communication and they monitor that regularly. Some of the oil companies, that we haul water for, do the same. They have their own personnel monitor these wells and I also constantly check them. This is a good thing.”

“I started in the oil business in 1976, working for an oil supply company in Laredo serving oil and gas activities,” said Wiley. “After awhile, I got into the gauging business with Mormac Oil and Gas at a field office in Pearsall. Later, in Charlotte, I worked for Ron Rickaway, who was my supervisor at a firm called Palmco Management. During this time I worked with another supervisor, Steve DeVilbiss, who was from here in Pleasanton.”

“After all of that, my dad (Winston Wiley) and I bought some oil wells and I went to work for him. He had a company called Wiley Lease Services. He had started that business in 1967 and I went to work for him in the 80’s. In the early 90’s I ran for Justice of Peace in Precinct 3 and held that office for sixteen years.”

“I also did some contract gauging and did whatever I could to make a living in the oil fields. I didn’t know anything else. Working in the oil fields was my business. There were some tough times back then with crude oil prices at really low levels.”Wiley Lease Co. at 1768 W. Goodwin in Pleasanton.

People wondered if the price of oil would ever come back.

“About 1997, there was an increasing need for vacuum trucks and I just bought one vacuum truck. Well, with one, it can break down, so you have to have two. Then we had that big blowout at a well owned by Pedeco Oil and Gas in the Pearsall area. This rig burned down and fortunately nobody was killed. We began hauling water there, night and day, and my vacuum business just grew from then on. I never ever visualized having more than two or three trucks, but as more calls began coming in, I’d add trucks and just grew the fleet. When the Eagle Ford started up, I was just about retired, but just couldn’t.”

“Any success I might have, I attribute to my mom and dad, my wife, employees, oilfield friends and loyal customers.”