Private equity firm acquires Illinois Tool Works division

American Industrial Partners Capital Fund IV L.P., a private equity investment firm, on April 5 announced that its newly formed Micro-Poise Measurement Systems LLC has acquired the Quality Measurement division of Illinois Tool Works Inc. The company is the leading global provider of precision measurement equipment and aftermarket support to the tire and automotive industries in both developed and emerging markets.

Micro-Poise is headquartered in Akron, Ohio, with sales offices in Western Europe, Korea and a wholly owned foreign enterprise in China. The company's equipment is mission critical and is used by manufacturers for process control and quality assurance in order to assess and correct the balance and uniformity of tires, wheels and powertrain components. The company's products are the market leaders in each of their respective categories and Micro-Poise is the industry's technology leader. The company has an installed base of more than 3,000 systems and generates a stream of aftermarket revenue that accounts for 30 percent of sales.

"Micro-Poise Measurement Systems has all the attributes we look for in a portfolio investment: leading market positions, attractive end-market dynamics, proprietary technology and a strong management team," said John Becker, a partner of American Industrial Partners who will serve as chairman of the acquired company. "These attractive attributes, coupled with our agenda of operational improvements and growth initiatives, represent an attractive opportunity for American Industrial Partners to partner with the management team in creating long-term value for all shareholders."

Steve Harris, chief executive officer of Micro-Poise, said, "Strong demand in emerging markets such as Eastern Europe and Asia coupled with the industry leading capabilities of our new product offerings have allowed us to build a strong book of business and a very favorable earnings outlook. We look forward to partnering with the American Industrial Partners team, who we are confident will provide the added financial, strategic, and operational resources needed to further build our global business platform. Everyone at Micro-Poise is excited about our company's prospects."