Monomoy buys ferrous caster, expands automotive group.

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Private equity fund Monomoy Capital Partners LP, New York, has acquired the assets and operations of Kurdziel Industries Inc., Muskegon, Mich., and announced an expansion at its flagship automotive casting facility.

Monomoy, which generally invests in middle-market companies, purchased the ferrous metalcaster for an undisclosed amount from the Kurdziel family and renamed the business Carlton Creek Ironworks Inc.

The investment group currently operates several other metalcasters under its Compass Automotive Group, including Castings Technologies Co., Franklin, Ind., and Magnesium Aluminum Corp., Cleveland. In October 2007, the firm purchased Alcoa Aluminum Castings, Pittsburgh, and created the automotive group.

The acquisition comes on the heels of Compass investing $3 million to improve its headquarters and add diecasting to its aluminum permanent mold shop, the inaugural plant in the group's growing stable of metalcasters.

The facility, one of two that comprise Compass's Casting Technologies Co., will add 40 new employees to its current group of 85. The company will begin hiring operators, maintenance technicians and professional staff in the fourth quarter of 2008. According to a company spokesperson, the renovations were precipitated by new contracts, an optimistic outlook for the target market and a reshuffling of Compass's overall product mix.

The announcement marks Casting Technologies' second expansion in less than a year. In September 2007, the company created 42 new jobs and invested $1.8 million in its Johnson County facility.

Casting Technologies produces aluminum die castings for a variety of major auto manufacturers. The new diecasting line will serve the company's safety-critical castings customers, producing parts such as airbag controls and steering systems components. Some of the new work will come over from Compass's Cleveland plant, as well as its two facilities in Mexico.

"Some of [the changes] were purely driven by proximity to customers; others were business decision-based," said Compass president and COO Craig Conaty.

When Casting Technologies was purchased several years ago by Monomoy, it was the firm's only automotive metalcaster. Compass was formed last November after subsequent acquisitions.

"We've grown quite a lot," Conaty said. "We [purchased] this facility in June of 2006, the Magnesium Aluminum Corp. in December 2006, tied them together in late summer [2007], and when we made the acquisition of Alcoa [in November 2007], we had enough pieces together to make a company."

According to Conaty, Compass has found a niche in the automotive industry that has continued to be in high demand--lightweight aluminum and magnesium parts that can mean savings at the pump for automobile operators.

"There are a lot of people in trouble [in this industry], but we see these as pretty opportunistic times," Conaty said.

The newly acquired ferrous metalcaster Kurdziel, which will be operated independantly of the Compass division of metalcasters, manufactures commercial castings and counterweights for a variety of industries. Its customers include John Deere, Haas, Komatsu and Genie. All of the company's businesses, including Kurdziel International Corp., a Chinese sourcing business, Kurdziel Industrial Coatings Co., a blasting and painting company, and the company's flagship iron metalcasting facility, will now be operated under the name Carlton Creek.

Former Kurdziel chief executive officer Ken Zach will continue as CEO of Carlton Creek. According to a press release issued by Monomoy, Zach and other company executives will attempt to revitalize the flagging metalcasting business through lean manufacturing strategies and increased financial support.

"Over the last 75 years, Kurdziel has built valuable relationships and established a solid reputation for high quality products," Zach said. "With Monomoy's operating expertise and the continued dedication of our employees and business partners, I am certain that Carlton Creek will grow from its exceptional heritage into an even stronger company."

Visit www.moderncasting.com for a podcast with Compass COO Craig Conaty.