U.S. Laboratories Buys BTC in $1.2-Million Deal

U.S. Laboratories of San Diego, in its second acquisition this year, has bought Ventura-based BTC Laboratories, a construction materials inspection and testing services company, for $1.2 million.

BTC, with a staff of 50, focuses on northern Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The combination of BTC with U.S. Laboratories subsidiaries in San Diego and Orange County will make it the largest company of its kind in Southern California, officials said.

BTC has several governmental and commercial private sector clients, including the cities of Ventura, Camarillo, Oxnard and Santa Barbara, the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara, and almost every school district and sanitation district in the region.

On a national level, BTC’s clients have included the U.S. Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as the U.S. Postal Service, for which it completed inspection and testing services for a multi-state project.

BTC also has provided services for multibillion-dollar facilities belonging to Exxon, Chevron and Unocal. On the commercial side, construction inspection and testing services have been performed for major retail mall projects in Santa Barbara, Thousand Oaks, Canoga Park, Ventura and Malibu.

F.L. Lin Franklin, one of the company founders, will remain as president of BTC.