Electro-Wire Products

Electro-Wire Products was founded by Thomas M. Wheeler in the early 1970’s. As a seasoned executive in the automotive industry, Mr. Wheeler saw an opportunity to provide a niche product in a marketplace primarily dominated by large multinational companies. His formula was simple: focus on meeting specific customer needs with high quality products and rapid response.

Mr. Wheeler acquired a small operation in Mason, Michigan, improved internal efficiencies and began growing its customer base. As he added management, he also instilled a corporate culture committed to continuous improvement.

The Company grew in size and reputation over the next two decades; first from the production of wire harnesses for a specific application on a “build-to-print” basis to complete electrical distribution systems for entire carlines fully designed by Electro-Wire engineers and produced in its vertically integrated operations. From a single plant located in rural Mason, Michigan to production facilities throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada, the Company continued to grow and prosper, exceeding $500 million in revenue by 1995. This journey also created a strong core team of experienced executives who have continued to support Mr. Wheeler in subsequent ventures.

Upon the sale of the core operations of Electro-Wire in 1995, the Company name was changed to TMW but the same business principles of quality, responsiveness, continuous improvement and attention to detail were brought forward to the portfolio companies acquired by TMW since 1995.

Detroit Broach and Southeast Broach

While an executive and shareholder of a local manufacturer, TMW had the foresight to purchase two of the manufacturer’s more profitable companies at very attractive valuations. Southeast Broach, a designer and manufacturer of jet engine and land turbine precision broaching tools, was purchased in the fall of 1988 followed shortly thereafter by Detroit Broach, a full line broach machine manufacturer serving the automotive, truck & bus, farm & construction equipment, aircraft, and military industries.

During the following ten years the combined revenues of the two companies grew to over $20 million. In 1998, at the peak of the broaching market cycle, TMW was approached by another broaching company with an offer to purchase both companies.

Both companies remain active in their respective markets today. Southeast Broach is well known for its commitment to individual customer service and product quality, which has earned them a reputation as a world class manufacturer. Since 1950 Detroit Broach has manufactured or remanufactured over 2,500 broach machines, and over two and a half million broach cutting tools.

EPIC Technologies

This investment began with the belief that electronic manufacturing services (EMS) companies would benefit from the growing trend for OEM’s to outsource their production of electronic products to contract manufacturers. John Sammut, previously an employee at Electro-Wire Products and now President of EPIC Technologies, identified a local EMS company that he believed had the ability to expand with the help of additional financial and managerial resources. John convinced Thomas R. Wheeler and other Wheeler family members to invest in Cirmount Circuits (CCI) based in Farmington Hills, Michigan in 1998.

On a separate but parallel path, Crawford Greene Group, another local private equity company, was interested in contract manufacturing and in 1999 acquired the stock of EPIC Technologies located in Ohio. As a result of TMW’s prior familiarity with the Crawford Greene Group, John and Tom were able to negotiate a merger of CCI with EPIC in April 2000. By this timeframe, John had completed the management team with the addition of Jochen Lipp, Director of Operations, Bob Howard as Chief Financial Officer and Wally Johnson as Director of Purchasing. The Crawford Greene Group subsequently elected to exit the business in 2001 to redeploy their capital elsewhere.

With the talented management team focused solely on achieving profitable revenue growth through excellence in manufacturing and by applying the TMW culture of continuous improvement in every aspect of the business, EPIC was able to accomplish industry leading metrics in cash conversion cycle, inventory turns and response time to customer orders. In June 2004, after three years of robust revenue growth and commensurate profitability, a majority interest in EPIC was sold to CIVC Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, which manages $1.3 billion of capital on behalf of its limited partners.

TMW remains actively involved in the affairs of EPIC today though its participation on its board. In addition, TMW shares an office facility with EPIC’s executive management personnel in Rochester Hills, Michigan and leases a production facility to EPIC in Juarez, Mexico.

GT Automotive

GT Automotive was the result of the combination of two competitors, Tamco, and Gel. Tamco was first identified while TMW was still managing Electro-Wire Products. Tamco, located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada was engaged in the manufacture of gear shift levers for the North American marketplace with a primary focus on column mounted mechanisms for light duty trucks. Tamco’s owners were considering whether to exit the business or infuse capital in an attempt to expand its market share at a time when TMW was interested in broadening its automotive exposure. Upon the sale of Electro-Wire in mid 1995, TMW focused its efforts on the acquisition of Tamco. TMW purchased Tamco in 1996 and set about applying the business disciplines developed at Electro-Wire to the new business.

While performing due diligence on Tamco, TMW identified a competitor in gear shifters, Gel which had captured a large market share of column mounted mechanisms for the passenger car market in North America. Gel was owned and managed by three seasoned executives that focused their respective efforts in manufacturing, sales and finance and administration. Gel was acquired and the two companies were combined to create GT Automotive with the management of Gel staying on to manage the newly formed consolidated entity.

The GT Automotive management team proceeded to implement a structured strategic planning process which lead to the full utilization of the combined entities’ facilities and equipment which in turn resulted in increased profitability. Plans were initiated to pursue further acquisitions to expand the business to include European markets.

In the meantime, Dura Automotive, a competitor with a business unit that focused primarily on console based shifters, went public and was looking to continue to expand its market share in all its business units through acquisitions. While Dura approached TMW with an acquisition proposition much earlier than TMW had originally planned, the terms of the buy-out were successfully negotiated and Dura purchased GT Automotive in 1997.

SMTEK International (SMTEK) provides integrated design and electronic manufacturing services as a contract manufacturer to OEMs in the instrumentation, communications, computer, medical and aerospace industries. Shares of SMTEK were acquired by TMW in 1998 through the exchange of shares of a small privately held electronic manufacturing services provider based in Florida. The acquired company fit in with SMTEK’s strategy of acquiring small to medium sized contract manufacturers specializing in high mix, high complexity electronic assemblies. Subsequent to the acquisition TMW provided SMTEK with additional financing resources which increased the common equity ownership to roughly 40%.

From its original investment in 1998 through its ultimate sale in 2005, TMW provided extensive support to both the Board of SMTEK and its executive management team. In addition to providing financial support, TMW was instrumental in the identification and evaluation of acquisition candidates, assisted in the recruitment of key executives and provided training on the principles of lean manufacturing.

CTS Corporation, a NYSE company, purchased the equity shares of SMTEK for cash and common stock in January 2005. CTS, based in Elkhart Indiana, is a leading designer and manufacturer of electronic components and sensors and a provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) to OEMs in the automotive, computer and communications markets. With the acquisition, SMTEK finally achieved the recognition for their strong management skills, competitive services and dedicated focus on achieving financial success. The combination provided CTS with: 1) customer diversification and accelerated expansion into new markets; 2) enhanced operation capabilities where SMTEK is a leader in printed circuit board designs, assembly and testing for complex electronic products; and 3) an increased global footprint with SMTEK’s strong presence on the West Coast and in Thailand which complimented CTS’ operations on the East Coast, in Europe, China and Singapore.