Consumers Fuel Co., a family-owned heating fuel provider in Belfast that operated out of the same downtown office building for more than a century, has been sold to a much larger private equity-backed company.
The company was acquired this month by Dead River Co., a South Portland-based firm that itself was bought out by a larger corporation in 2021. That parent company, Redwood Capital Investments of Maryland, has bought or invested in more than a dozen U.S. heating fuel companies since 2015.
John Holmes, the third-generation owner of Consumers Fuel Co., announced the sale on Monday in a letter to customers, which is now posted on the Dead River website.
The letter did not indicate how much Dead River paid to acquire the local company, but it said the iconic office — a brick building overlooking the Belfast Harbor at the bottom of Main Street — is still open. That building has long been splashed with the company’s traditional handpainted name and logo, in blue, white and red colors.
“Since 1911, three generations of the Holmes family have proudly served the heating needs of our friends and neighbors in the Belfast area,” Holmes said. “The relationships that our family has formed in that time mean a great deal to us, and that is why I find it bittersweet to say that I have decided to retire after 55 years. Doing so will allow me more time to spend with my family.”
Information at the county registry of deeds show that Dead River acquired property off Congress Street from Holmes earlier in May. But there is no record of the downtown building changing hands. It and the 0.38 acres on which it sits are valued at $762,000, according to local tax records.
Consumers Fuel Co. started out by providing coal, wood, hay and fertilizer for heating customers, according to information on its website, which is now only available on the Internet Archive. It then began selling heating oil in the 1930s, and propane by 1950.
The expansion of Redwood Capital’s portfolio to include multiple Maine businesses has highlighted a growing trend of investment firms seeing high profits to be made from the sale of increasingly expensive fossil fuels used for heating. Compared to the rest of the country, Maine is particularly dependent on heating oil despite statewide efforts to embrace more renewable forms of energy.
In his letter to customers, Holmes touted Dead River’s “reputation for prompt, reliable, personalized service” and said the business would be rebranded under the new ownership.
“You will begin to see the Consumers Fuel team in Dead River Company uniforms. You may also see some new faces from Dead River Company,” Holmes said. “You could see either a Consumers Fuel Company or Dead River Company delivery truck or service vehicle at your home or business. Over time, all vehicles will be rebranded to Dead River Company.”
