Intermet Signs Agreement to Purchase Aluminum Caster
3 December 1998
Intermet Signs Agreement to Purchase Aluminum CasterTROY, Mich., Dec. 2 -- Intermet Corporation today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Quadion Corporation for the purchase of its Tool Products Division. Tool Products is a North American manufacturer of precision engineered, close-tolerance, aluminum die castings. Sales for their fiscal year 1998 ending September 30 were $67 million. Tool Products is recognized as a leading supplier of aluminum die castings for the automotive electronics industry. The company also manufactures for other broad applications in the motor vehicle, electronics, communications, power tool and recreation industries. Tool Products, headquartered in New Hope, Minnesota (suburb of Minneapolis), operates two manufacturing facilities located in New Hope and Jackson, Tennessee. In 1999, Tool Products will open a new operation in Mexico. Intermet Chairman and CEO, John Doddridge, said, "It is Intermet's fundamental strategy to offer metal castings in multiple materials, so logically we have been looking for opportunities to grow our aluminum casting business to complement our iron casting business. Tool Products has significant growth potential, with future business awards already secured. It is an excellent company and has very good management -- something we always look for in an acquisition. As a QS-9000 certified manufacturer, Tool Products is a world-class die cast operation. Its disciplined approach to cost control and profitability is very similar to that of Intermet, and we are pleased with this accretive transaction." Tool Products 1998 revenues were 60% automotive and 40% industrial. Its manufacturing facilities are strategically positioned to effectively serve a broad national customer base, which includes Ford Motor Company, Motorola, Delco, Denso, Eaton, Allied Signal, Robert Bosch, Harley Davidson, Milwaukee Electric and Dell Computers. This acquisition brings to Intermet recognized aluminum engineering and die casting capability as Intermet further expands its aluminum castings capabilities. Intermet currently owns and operates two aluminum plants in addition to its 13 iron foundries and machining plants. Piper Jaffray Inc. acted as financial advisor to Quadion Corporation in connection with the Tool Products transaction. With headquarters in Troy, Michigan, Intermet Corporation and its subsidiaries design and manufacture precision iron and aluminum cast components for automotive and industrial equipment manufacturers worldwide. Intermet also produces precision machined components and manufactures cranes and specialty service vehicles. The company has more than 5,700 employees at sixteen locations in North America and Europe. The company's Internet address is http://www.intermet.com. This news release may include forecasts and forward-looking statements about Intermet, its industry and the markets in which it operates. Forward-looking statements and the achievement of any forecasts or projections are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or denied. Such risks and uncertainties are fully detailed as a preface to the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition in the Company's 1997 Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 1997.