Penrite Oil buys majority stake in pressure washer brand Blahst
What's the deal? Australian vehicle lubricants company Penrite OilDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has acquired a majority shareholding in BlahstDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an Australian pressure washer brand. The terms were undisclosed. The deal, announced in September 2026, pushes Penrite beyond lubricants and into automotive cleaning gear.
What each side does: Penrite makes vehicle lubricants and is celebrating 100 years in business in 2026. Blahst, founded by Leigh Bartlett and Andrew Hermes, sells wall-mounted pressure washers, vacuums, dryer blowers, cleaning products, accessories, and modular garage storage.
Why now? The purchase lands as Penrite reshapes itself from a lubricant supplier into a broader business it calls Penrite AutomotiveDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Chief executive officer Toby Dymond called the deal "a natural fit between two Australian businesses with a strong connection to the automotive community."
What changes for customers? Not much day-to-day. Blahst keeps its brand, and founders Bartlett and Hermes stay on to run the business. Service and customer support remain unchanged.
What's the endgame? Penrite wants to broaden its automotive portfolio and back Blahst's expansion. Blahst has already moved beyond pressure washers into a full system for cleaning, drying, vacuuming, and storing cars, bikes, boats, caravans, and heavy vehicles.
"We see a lot of opportunity to support the continued growth of the brand while maintaining the energy, identity and customer focus that has made Blahst successful," Dymond said.
For Blahst, the payoff is scale. "What Penrite adds is more support behind the scenes: stronger supply, a faster path from ideas to products and more room to keep building the system," the founders said. Access to Penrite's infrastructure is meant to strengthen supply and speed product development.
The signal: The deal shows an established lubricants maker diversifying into adjacent automotive products rather than defending a single category — a bet that owning the whole vehicle-care experience beats selling one part of it.
Read more: busnews.com.au
Image credit: zeevveez
