Advanced Accessory Systems Adds Three Key Businesses
7 August 1997
Advanced Accessory Systems Adds Three Key Businesses
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich., Aug. 7 -- Advanced Accessory
Systems, LLC, ("AAS") today announced three major business acquisitions:
* Valley Industries of Madison Heights, Michigan, the leading supplier
of trailer hitches to global car and truck manufacturers and the
aftermarket;
* SportRack division of Bell Sports Corp. of Canada, the leading
designer and supplier of ski racks and other detachable rack
accessories to the Canadian aftermarket; and
* Nomadic Sport, the leading Canadian OEM specialty rack company.
The moves make AAS, formed in September 1995, the global leader in the
supply of automotive roof racks and trailer hitches to the North American and
European OEMs and the aftermarket. Company sales will jump from $140 million
to $250 million annually with 1,500 employees in ten countries. AAS is
QS-9000 registered in the U.S. and Europe and has extensive global aftermarket
channels.
AAS Chairman Alan Smith said: "These acquisitions make us the global
leader in vehicle accessory systems. This means unequaled full service to all
our OEM and aftermarket customers, providing the design, manufacturing, and
distribution to best serve the various markets around the world. In trailer
hitches, Valley is the leader in North America; and Brink (acquired in October
1996) is the leader in Europe. Both companies will continue to operate
separately under current management -- Valley under the leadership of Roger
Morgan, President and CEO; and Brink under Gerrit de Graaf, General Manager in
Staphorst, Holland. Together, they are now working to maximize sales
opportunities and to improve efficiencies."
SportRack, headquartered in Granby, Quebec, designs, manufactures and
markets automobile roof rack systems and sports accessories, including bike
racks, ski racks and rooftop cargo boxes. These products are marketed under
the brand names Mondial, SportRack, and SnapRack. The SportRack detachable
rack aftermarket business will be added to the existing AAS market-leading OEM
and Dycrest Automotive rack business under the continuing leadership of
Marshall D. Gladchun, President and CEO.
"The innovative, world-class SportRack and Nomadic Sport products are a
perfect fit alongside our existing AAS products and OEM relationships.
SportRack's aftermarket rack systems and Nomadic Sport's specialty racks are
the perfect complement to our existing OEM product line. The fit and brand
identity is so strong, in fact, that AAS has renamed its total roof rack
business SportRack with the following divisions: SportRack Automotive -- OEM
roof racks and accessories, and SportRack International -- aftermarket roof
racks and accessories," said Gladchun.
AAS and SportRack will be headquartered in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
The company will now have the following operations:
Advanced Accessory Systems, LLC Valley Industries
Headquarters: Madison Heights, MI
Sterling Heights, MI Auburn Hills, MI
Lodi, CA
SportRack Automotive Brink
Sterling Heights, MI Staphorst, Holland
Port Huron, MI Vanersborg, Sweden
Shelby Township, MI Fensmark, Denmark
Sandhausen, Germany Nuneaton, United Kingdom
Hoogeveen, Holland
SportRack International Reims, France
Granby, Quebec, Canada Dortmund, Germany
Hamer Bay, Ontario, Canada
International OEM customers include Chrysler, General Motors, Ford,
Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen, SEAT, Skoda, BMW, Honda, Isuzu,
Subaru, Mitsubishi, Opel and KIA.
AAS was formed in September 1995 by Chase Capital Partners, AAS management
and other investors. Chase Capital is a $4 billion global private equity
partnership whose sole limited partner is Chase Manhattan Corporation.
"AAS continues to seek to acquire leadership companies in the worldwide
vehicle accessories market," the Company's chairman, Alan Smith, concluded.
SOURCE Advanced Accessory Systems