RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Markel Corporation (NYSE: MKL) announces today that its subsidiary, Markel Ventures, has acquired a majority interest in WI Holdings Inc. ("Weldship"), a privately held company headquartered in Bethlehem, PA, with a division, Texas Trailer Corporation, in Gainesville, TX, from RAF Industries, Inc.  Weldship manufactures, leases and sells high pressure tube trailers, certified ISO containers and other gas and liquid containers to industrial gas manufacturers, independent distributors, specialty chemical companies and the United States Government for use in the domestic and international compressed gas, electronic gas and specialty chemical industries.

Robert Arcieri, CEO and President of Weldship, stated, "We are very excited about our new relationship with Markel.  With the added strength Markel provides as our permanent business partner, we anticipate our business will continue its consistent growth pattern, providing security for our employees and support for our customers."

Thomas S. Gayner, President of Markel Ventures, added, "We are pleased to welcome Weldship to the Markel Ventures family.  Weldship is an established leader within their specialized industry segment and will be a great addition to our group of businesses."

Markel Ventures, Inc. (www.markelventures.com) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Markel Corporation, a diverse financial holding company serving a variety of niche markets.  Markel's principal business is to market and underwrite specialty insurance products.  Markel Ventures makes strategic and generally controlling investments in businesses that operate outside of the specialty insurance marketplace.  The primary goal of Markel Ventures is to positively contribute to the long-term financial performance of Markel Corporation through the value creating operating activities of its subsidiaries.

This release contains statements concerning or incorporating the company's expectations, assumptions, plans, objectives, future financial or operating performance and other statements that are not historical facts.  These statements are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  There are risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from predicted results in forward-looking statements.  Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those predicted are set forth under "Risk Factor" and "Safe Harbor and Cautionary Statement" in Markel Corporation's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

Visit Markel Corporation on the web at www.markelcorp.com.

SOURCE Markel Corporation

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