ROM Corporation Sold to The Sterling Group

Century Park Capital Partners is pleased to announce that it has completed the sale of ROM Corporation (“ROM”) and Specialty Manufacturing, Inc. (“SMI”), two related portfolio companies, to Safe Fleet Acquisition Corp., an investment vehicle formed by The Sterling Group, a Houston-based private equity firm.

ROM and SMI manufacture engineered products that improve the safety and accessibility of high-value public and commercial vehicles. While employing similar manufacturing methods, the two companies serve separate segments of the specialty vehicle industry. ROM is a manufacturer of components used primarily in the emergency, military and refrigerated trailer industries, whereas SMI designs and manufactures products for the bus and rail sectors. Although capital structure considerations previously prevented the two companies from being formally consolidated, the two companies operated cooperatively under Century Park’s ownership.

“We are excited to have successfully exited ROM and SMI and are pleased that The Sterling Group has recognized the value of the platform that we built in partnership with the ROM and SMI management teams. We believe that The Sterling Group will be a great steward for the company going forward,” said Chip Roellig, Managing Partner of Century Park. “Although we are sad to see our period of ownership come to a close, we are very pleased with the growth these companies have achieved and the resulting substantial increase in value.”

Joe Uebbing, CEO of SMI and Chairman of the Board of ROM, said, “This transaction will enable us to continue to develop the diversified specialty vehicle components platform that we created with Century Park. Under Century Park’s ownership, we have been able to complete six add-on acquisitions, strengthen our market positions, and diversify our product offerings and end markets. We look forward to carrying on this strategy with our new partners.”

Jeff Hupke, CEO and President of ROM, commented, “The team at Century Park has been a terrific partner for us and we accomplished a great deal during their ownership. We will be sorry to see this chapter of the companies’ history come to a close but we are excited about the future.”

About ROM Corporation

ROM Corporation, founded in 1947, is headquartered in a 65,000 sq. ft. facility in suburban Kansas City, Missouri and specializes in manufacturing products that improve worker productivity and reduce workplace accidents. ROM product solutions are marketed to emergency responders, truck and trailer operators, food and pharmaceutical manufacturers, telecommunication and utility workers, and other specialty vehicle occupations. ROM operates facilities in West St. Paul, Minnesota, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and Nesconset, New York, and is ISO 9001-certified. For more information on ROM, please visit www.romcorp.com.

About Specialty Manufacturing, Inc.

SMI was founded in the mid-1970s and has become an industry leader in manufacturing safety equipment for the bus and rail markets. SMI is headquartered in Pineville, North Carolina and also has operations in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The company enjoys a vast network of distributors within the US as well as international locations that provides service and aftermarket parts. For more information on SMI, please visit www.smiglobal.net.

(investment led by Wincove partners at prior firm; Wincove participated in Century Park’s recapitalization)

Reprinted from centuryparkcapital.com