Piston Companies Roll Out New Piston Group Brand

DETROIT, Feb. 11, 2004 -- Chairman Vinnie Johnson and the management team today unveiled a new Piston Group brand logo for its five companies at a "Roll Out Luncheon" in the Detroit Athletic Club. Piston Group companies include Piston Automotive, JL Automotive, Piston Modules LLC, PASA Modules LLC and Custom Molders Inc. (CMI). All are majority owned by Johnson.

The Piston Group will serve as an umbrella organization to the individual companies, thereby creating a unified brand in the marketplace while adding value through the vertical integration of the business units.

"This is a significant step in our growth strategy," said President & CEO Bruce Smith. "Under the Piston Group brand, we are strategically linking all of our companies under a single entity to collectively market our strong track record of customer service, quality products and growth to an industry that demands suppliers offer diverse and competitive products."

Since 1995, the Piston Group companies have grown to six facilities in three states, providing top quality products and services from assembly and sequencing to brake corner/chassis modules to injection moldings.

Collectively, the Piston Group represents more than 350 jobs in urban communities, mostly from Detroit's Empowerment and Renaissance Zone areas, and total revenues of approximately $200 million.

Detroit Empowerment Zone-based Piston Group is comprised of five automotive supplier companies including Piston Automotive; JL Automotive, a joint venture with Lear Corporation; Piston Modules LLC, a joint venture with Continental Teves; PASA Modules LLC, a joint venture with Sachs Automotive; and Custom Molders Inc. Piston Group facilities are located in Michigan, Delaware and North Carolina. For more information, go to www.pistongroup.com .