Stant Corp Adds On

Stant Corp., a portfolio company of H.I.G. Capital, has acquired the assets of Expert Corp., a Romeoville, Ill.-based maker of evaporative emission canisters and front end carriers for the automotive industry.

PRESS RELEASE

H.I.G. Capital, LLC, a leading global private investment firm, today announced that its portfolio company, Stant Corporation, a leading, integrated manufacturer of highly engineered vapor and fluid control components, has acquired substantially all the assets of Expert Corporation.

Based in Romeoville, IL, Expert is a leading designer and manufacturer of evaporative emission canisters and front end carriers for the automotive industry. Expert’s customers include many of the leading automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers in the U.S.

“Expert has an impressive history of developing and manufacturing innovative canisters, and will help Stant provide a full suite of customized vapor management solutions to meet our customers’ demanding needs,” commented Marlon Bailey, Stant President and CEO. “Expert’s engineering, sales and manufacturing professionals have done a nice job winning marquis business and have a strong pipeline of future opportunities as well. We are excited to bring Expert into the Stant family and collectively build upon their deep technical and innovative vapor management delivery solutions. This also well positions Stant well to capitalize on the tightening emissions standards in the automotive, industrial and small engine markets.”

“We are pleased to support Stant in its strategic acquisition of Expert,” commented Roman Krislav from H.I.G. Capital. “We have had our eye on Expert for a long time. This transaction is highly strategic, completes Stant’s capabilities in vapor management products, and makes Stant a global leader in gas caps, valves, and now canisters, as well in the cooling product category. Expert also comes with strong development capabilities and a solid pipeline. We are excited about the growth it will bring to Stant.”

Thomas LaMagna, Expert’s Chief Executive Officer, who will join Stant and will lead Stant’s canister and front end carrier segment, added, “I’m excited to join forces with Stant and H.I.G. Stant and H.I.G. understood our business and executed the transaction as promised on an expedited timetable with minimal disruptions to our operations. Stant’s broad R&D expertise and strong balance sheet provide an excellent platform to build upon Expert’s recent success in delivering new and innovative products and solutions to our set of blue chip customers.”

About Expert Corporation

Headquartered in Romeoville, IL, Expert is a leading Tier One designer and manufacturer of evaporative emission canisters and front end carriers for the automotive industry. A full spectrum of state of the art engineering, manufacturing, and post-production resources makes Expert a formidable sole source supplier to the largest and fastest growing automobile manufacturers in the world. The Company produces its products under long-term production contracts with its blue chip customer base.

About Stant Corporation

Headquartered in Connersville, IN, Stant Corporation is a leading, integrated manufacturer of highly engineered vapor and fluid control components. These products are sold to a diversified group of global industrial and automotive original equipment manufacturers and automotive aftermarket customers. Stant has a distinguished 110 year history of delivering patented, innovative solutions to address two critical engine applications: (i) fuel systems, including fuel caps, fuel vapor control valves, and evaporative canisters to meet increasingly stringent domestic and international evaporative emission standards and (ii) cooling systems, including thermostats, thermostat housing subassemblies and radiator caps. The Company operates five global manufacturing facilities including operations in the United States, Mexico, Czech Republic and China. Through these operations, Stant is able to provide its global customers with quality, just-in-time products and solutions to meet their increasing emissions control and cooling needs. For more information, please refer to the Stant website at http://www.stant.com.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. Capital is a leading global private equity investment firm with more than $7.5 billion of equity capital under management. Based in Miami, and with offices in San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, and New York in the U.S., as well as affiliate offices in London, Hamburg and Paris in Europe, H.I.G. specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies with attractive growth potential. H.I.G. invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of profitable and well-managed service or manufacturing businesses. H.I.G. also has extensive experience with financial restructurings and operational turnarounds. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 200 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes companies with combined revenues in excess of $8 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.