Alan Johnson Named President, CEO of Advanced Accessory Systems

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich., Feb. 3, 2005 -- Advanced Accessory Systems, the leading manufacturer of automotive roof racks and towing systems in North America and Europe, announced today the appointment of Alan C. Johnson as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately.

Johnson, 56, succeeds Terence C. Seikel, who indicated a desire to resign last summer in order to pursue other interests.

"I enthusiastically welcome the opportunity and the challenge that AAS offers," Johnson said. "This is an industry that I know well, and I am confident that the company will continue to expand its operations and markets here and overseas."

Johnson has been president and chief operating officer of Plastech Engineered Products of Dearborn, Michigan, since early last year when Plastech acquired LDM Technologies of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Plastech is a major supplier of injection-molded plastic components, assemblies and systems to the automotive original equipment manufacturer market. Johnson had been with LDM since 2001 as president and CEO.

Before that, Johnson had held a number of executive positions over more than 30 years with Federal-Mogul, a major auto-parts manufacturer in Southfield, Michigan, and with battery-maker Exide Corporation of Reading, Pennsylvania.

With Federal-Mogul, Johnson's positions included executive vice president, Americas and Asia Pacific, executive vice president, Powertrain Systems, and president, Manufacturing Operations/OEM Business. At Exide, where he was employed in 1999 and 2000, he was president and chief operating officer.

Johnson earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a master's degree in business administration from Wayne State University in Detroit.

AAS, based in Sterling Heights, has 25 manufacturing and support facilities throughout North America and Europe. Its customers include all of the major automakers, as well as numerous aftermarket product distribution channels.

Castle Harlan, founded in 1987, is a leading New York private-equity investment firm, investing in controlling interests in the buyout and development of middle-market companies in North America and Europe. Through Castle Harlan Partners IV, the firm has owned a controlling interest in AAS since April 2003.

Castle Harlan's team of nine managing directors, including its founders, has completed more than 60 acquisitions with a total value in excess of $7 billion. The firm traces its roots to the start of the institutionalized private-equity business in the late 1960s.

Castle Harlan also invests in Australia, New Zealand and the Australasian region through its Sydney-based affiliate, CHAMP, which is one of Australia's oldest and largest private equity firms.

Castle Harlan's portfolio companies, which employ more than 26,000 people, include Ames True Temper, a leading manufacturer of lawn and garden tools and accessories; Horizon Lines, one of the largest U.S. container shipping companies, and Morton's Restaurant Group, a leading operator of upscale steakhouses.