VAST Alliance Gives Automakers and Tier-One Suppliers Improved Sourcing Options

MILWAUKEE--Feb. 1, 20066, 2006--Three major automotive suppliers have formed a unique and innovative alliance to address the ever-increasing needs of their customers for global support.

The Vehicle Access Systems Technology Alliance (VAST Alliance) is a highly qualified, single source global supplier of security/access control products for the motor vehicle industry. Those products include latching systems, lock sets, door handle components, exterior trim and lighting products. The VAST Alliance consists of WITTE Automotive (also known as WITTE-Velbert GmbH & Co. KG) of Germany, STRATTEC SECURITY CORPORATION of Milwaukee, Wis. and ADAC Plastics, Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich. Together, they own and operate manufacturing facilities on four continents, including plants in the United States, Mexico, Germany, Czech Republic, China and Brazil.

"The global automotive industry is going through a rapid change," said Vlad Hermann, president of Vehicle Access Systems Technology LLC. "To better serve our customers in this competitive and demanding environment, we combined the resources of WITTE, STRATTEC and ADAC into a powerful VAST Alliance."

"The VAST Alliance gives us a new level of global capability to meet the needs of our customers. For purchasers of our componentry, the sourcing efficiency is unprecedented," said Harry Stratton, CEO of STRATTEC SECURITY CORPORATION.

Members of the VAST Alliance have established two distinct structures to take advantage of their combined strengths. One is an Alliance Agreement, which governs behavior in each respective home market. Through this arrangement, members can leverage their strong position in their respective home markets and act as each others' sales, manufacturing and support representatives in the European and North American markets.

The second is a joint venture -- the Vehicle Access Systems Technology LLC -- which covers operations in markets outside of North America and Europe. All new business outside of North America and Europe is supported by the VAST LLC, which also acts as the mechanism through which the three companies own and operate their joint ventures in China and Brazil.

"VAST gives automakers an immediate solution for both their global initiatives and for their desire for integrated vehicle access systems," said ADAC Plastics' CEO Ken Hungerford. We've listened to our customers' needs and we've taken a bold, imaginative step to fulfill them."

The agreement, finalized in January 2006, has already begun to benefit Alliance customers and partners. When a major Japanese automaker announced it would expand production in Europe, suppliers -- including ADAC Plastics -- needed to guarantee service and support equal to what they provided in North America. Through the Alliance, ADAC was able to work closely with WITTE Automotive to ensure the necessary support to the automaker. It also helped WITTE Automotive introduce its products and capabilities -- along with those of STRATTEC -- to the Japanese automaker.

In addition, the partners are conducting joint research and development for future products. "Today's customers need more than discrete parts. They need integrated systems," said Rainer Goelz, managing director of WITTE-Velbert GmbH & Co. "Together we're working on new subassemblies that will integrate componentry and save our customers manufacturing time and assure efficiency."

For more information, visit the companies' Web sites at:

www.witte-velbert.de

www.strattec.com

www.adacplastics.com

www.vastalliance.com

Certain statements contained in this release contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "expect," "intend," "may," "planned," "potential," "should," "will," and "would." Such forward-looking statements in this release are inherently subject to many uncertainties in the operations of the VAST Alliance and its members and in the business environment. These uncertainties include general economic conditions, in particular, relating to the automotive industry, consumer demand for the products of the members of the Alliance and their customers, competitive and technological developments, customer purchasing actions, foreign currency fluctuations, and costs of operations. Readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made herein are only made as of the date of this press release and the Alliance members undertake no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release. In addition, such uncertainties and other operational matters are discussed further in STRATTEC's quarterly and annual filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.