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O & S Manufacturing Company Acquired by Local Businessmen

23 March 1999

O & S Manufacturing Company Acquired by Local Businessmen; Company Renamed O & S America LLC

    WHITMORE LAKE, Mich., March 22 -- A group of local
businessmen has purchased the 0 & S Manufacturing Company in Whitmore Lake
from Lemforder USA, a subsidiary of ZF Friedrichshafen AB, a German automotive
components supplier.
    0 & S America LLC manufactures chassis and steering components for vehicle
markets in the agricultural, military and heavy industrial equipment sectors.
The operations are located in an 80,000-square-foot facility about 10 miles
north of Ann Arbor, Michigan.  With the product line including torque rods,
tie rods, drag links, power cylinder ends and spherical bearings for OEMs and
the aftermarket, annual sales are between $19 and $20 million.
    A minority-owned enterprise, 0 & S America has four partners:
Reginald B. Kelley, chairman and president; James M. Bonk, chief executive
officer; Samuel A. Crumpton, chief operating officer; and Tony Zambelli,
executive vice president. Forest Farmer, Sr., principal of the Farmer Group,
is a board member.
    "Our intentions are to keep the same workforce in the same facility,
continue good relations with UAW Local 697 and increase sales in the company's
core markets," said Mr. Kelley.
    "We are enthusiastic about enhancing 0 & S' excellent reputation for
innovation, quality and service.  We want to grow as a team made up of our
employees, customers and community."
    According to Mr. Crumpton, "Our operating goals are to continue to be of
service to our customers, including Lernforder USA, our largest customer; to
build our core business; and to identify and develop new product opportunities
in our OEM and aftermarkets."

    NOTE:
    0 & S America LLC's officers are Reginald B. Kelley, chairman and
president; James M. Bonk, chief executive officer; Samuel A. Crumpton, chief
operating officer; and Tony Zambelli, executive vice president.  Forest
Farmer, Sr., retired president of Chrysler Corporation's Acustar Division, is
a board member.
    Mr. Kelley also is president and managing partner of Kel Chem Technology,
Inc. of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a distributor of thermoplastic and
engineering resins, thermoplastic elastomers and color concentrates.  He has
more than 20 years in sales and marketing management at B.F. Goodrich, Tenneco
Polymers, Occidental Chemical, Georgia Gulf and Formosa USA.  A graduate of
Baldwin Wallace College with a B.A. degree, he has done graduate work for an
M.B.A. at Ohio University.
    Mr. Bonk is the founder and principal of Eagle Venture Partners of
Fairfax, Virginia.  Previously he was responsible for North American business
development for Lafarge S.A., a French-owned building materials manufacturer.
A part of the turnaround team at Chrysler Corporation in the early 1980s, he
became general manager of sales/marketing of Chrysler's Diversified Operations
Group.  He is a graduate of Purdue University with B.S. and M.S. degrees in
economics and management.
    Mr. Crumpton formerly was operations manager of Vlasic Foods International
in Millsboro, Delaware. Previously he was plant manager of Vlasic Foods'
facilities in Imlay City and Bridgeport, Michigan, after joining the company
in 1993.  Prior to this, he worked in plant operations for Miller Brewing
Company.  Mr. Crumpton holds a B.S. degree in business from Baldwin Wallace
College and lives in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
    Mr. Zambelli is managing director of Manchester Capital LLC, a merchant
and investment banking firm based in Birmingham, Michigan.  Formerly he was
managing director of Corporate Finance for Deloitte & Touche LLP's Midwest
office.  Prior to this he was a senior manager in Corporate Finance for
Coopers & Lybrand LLP.  Mr. Zambelli is an owner of several other
privately-held businesses in which he fosters growth opportunities and secures
financing.  He is a graduate of the University of Michigan's Business School
and is a certified public accountant.