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Visteon Turns up the Heat on its Aftermarket Business With Acquisition

21 December 1998

Visteon Turns up the Heat on its Aftermarket Business With Acquisition of PABA Climate Control

    DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 18 -- In a move that supports an
aggressive plan to capture significant new business in the aftermarket,
Visteon Automotive Systems today acquired a majority stake in PABA,
Incorporated, a manufacturer and distributor of aftermarket climate control
products in North America.
    PABA includes ARS, Inc., headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y., and Wholesale
Radiator Warehouses of America, Inc. (WRW), headquartered in Somerset, N.J.
PABA will be renamed Visteon Climate Control Systems Limited.
    PABA provides Visteon with a means to supply replacement radiators,
condensers and heater parts for virtually every vehicle make and model driven
in North America.
    "This acquisition is in keeping with our push to become a leader in the
automotive aftermarket," said Craig Muhlhauser, president, Visteon.  "We are
turning up the heat on our aftermarket efforts and will leverage the
capabilities of PABA to reach new customers and companies."
    "PABA will provide us with the foundation for building a global
aftermarket climate control business," said David Peace, director of global
aftermarket operations for Visteon.  "We are ramping up to take advantage of
terrific opportunities, and PABA is an important part of our efforts."
    Visteon has secured an 80 percent interest in PABA to establish links with
new aftermarket customers and to leverage a new aftermarket parts distribution
network.  PABA will retain the remaining 20 percent interest in ARS and WRW.
Terms and conditions of the sale were not disclosed.
    ARS assembles and distributes radiators, heater cores, condensers and
other aftermarket climate control equipment for a wide range of vehicle makes
and models.  WRW provides Visteon with access to a strategic parts
distribution network and to a proprietary, state-of-the-art vehicle parts
database.
    PABA was established in 1987 and has 190 employees.  The company has a
manufacturing plant in Buffalo, three regional distribution hubs and 14
warehouses located throughout the United States and Canada.
    ARS sells "ARS"-branded parts to more than 200 national distributors, and
WRW sells to more than 2,000 independent installer retailers under the
"Maxcool" brand.
    Visteon already offers the automotive industry broad expertise in climate
control systems.  Visteon's Climate Control Systems has 29 global
manufacturing facilities providing a variety of OEM customers with integrated
climate control and engine cooling systems and components.
    "We expect Visteon and PABA to benefit from some important product and
distribution synergies," Peace said.  "We are aggressively targeting new
customers in the aftermarket and will provide them with unparalleled product
quality and service."
    Visteon has 82,000 employees and 120 manufacturing, engineering, sales and
technical centers located in 21 countries.  Visteon's corporate headquarters
is located in Dearborn, Mich.