News

To our valued customers, suppliers, friends and employees:

As I reflect on my 60-plus years as owner and founder of SCAT Enterprises, Inc and the many customers, suppliers, friends and employees I have met and worked with, I realize how truly rewarding this journey has been.

Since my son Peter’s untimely death seven years ago, I have been approached many times to sell SCAT.  These proposals included organizational changes, moving our facility, and plans that would disrupt the business and put my employees’ livelihood at risk. I have held off selling until I was assured the employees that have made SCAT a success would be well taken care of.

I have decided to sell the Crankshaft and Procar businesses to Taglich Private Equity, LLC. Please refer to the attached press release for more information on the buyer, who is the same investment group that purchased Air Flow Research.

Taglich Private Equity has signed a five-year lease on our current SCAT building and has no plans to move SCAT or to change anything we do. They will focus on our strengths, introduce new products and continue to grow the business.

All key members of management will remain in control of SCAT, and it truly will be business as usual.  I will continue to assist the Crankshaft and Procar businesses in a consultant role for the next 12 months at a minimum, and longer if needed.

I want to assure all of you that we will continue to provide the same high-quality crankshafts, connecting rods, and seating systems, with a continued focus on customer service and technical support. If you have questions about the transition, I am always available for a phone call.

To all who have been part of this journey, my family and I thank you.

Sincerely,

Tom

Redondo Beach, CA – SCAT Enterprises, LLC (“SCAT”) is proud to announce that it has been acquired by Taglich Private Equity, LLC (“TPE”), who recently acquired Air Flow Research Heads, Inc., a leading manufacturer of cylinder heads and intake manifolds for the high-performance automotive aftermarket. For over 50 years, SCAT has been a leading manufacturer of high-performance crankshafts, connecting rods and rotating assemblies used in the performance automotive aftermarket. The transaction includes the Procar by SCAT seating division. SCAT’s management team will remain in place along with SCAT’s production facility and employees, located at its headquarters in Redondo Beach, CA.

SCAT was founded in 1964 by Tom Lieb, and for over 50 years has a long history of bringing innovation to the automotive aftermarket. Today SCAT provides the broadest selection of high quality and high-performance crankshafts, connecting rods and rotating assemblies in the industry.  Procar makes a wide range of high-quality seats and seat brackets used in the hot rod, muscle car and street racing segments.

Tom Lieb will remain involved in the business going forward, and SCAT’s current COO, Craig Schenasi, will become CFO of the combined companies and an owner in the business. SCAT has held a dominant position in performance automotive aftermarket since its inception, and Tom’s knowledge of crankshafts, connecting rods and engine components has made him an industry icon. The company’s commitment to excellence has earned its products a place within the fastest race cars and with the best engine builders in the country.

“Completing this sale doesn’t represent the end, but merely another step in SCAT’s long and successful history,” stated Tom Lieb. “We are excited about partnering with AFR and continuing to build on the foundation that we have built over the years.” Shawn Sterling, who will be the CEO of AFR and SCAT stated, “SCAT has a fantastic brand, strong team and an impressive legacy, which we are fortunate to add to our company. I am thrilled about the opportunity to work with and learn from Tom, Craig, and the rest of the team at SCAT. We believe that the AFR, SCAT and Procar brands will create a lot of synergies for our customers while providing tremendous growth opportunities for our employees. We will focus on our customers’ and employees’ successes, as we believe this is the key to our future growth, both organically and through acquisitions of other performance aftermarket companies.”

Will Morris, Managing Director of Taglich Private Equity, stated, “We are very excited about the SCAT acquisition and honored to partner with Tom Lieb and the team at SCAT who have built an amazing business over the past 50 years. We continue to be very interested in exploring additional add-on acquisition opportunities in the high-performance automotive aftermarket to accelerate growth and build upon our product offerings.” Financing for the transaction was arranged by Taglich Private Equity with equity provided by Taglich and Farragut Capital Partners, who also provided subordinated debt. Byline Bank provided the senior debt financing.  The Spartan Group acted as exclusive financial advisor to SCAT.  Dentons Durham Jones Pinegar acted as legal advisor and Moss Adams acted as due diligence advisor to Taglich.

About SCAT Enterprises

SCAT was founded in 1964 by Tom Lieb, who ran a parts business out of his parents’ garage while still in college. Over 50 years later, SCAT Enterprises offers a wide range of products under the SCAT Crankshafts and Procar by SCAT brands. In addition to a comprehensive line of crankshaft options, the brand offers high-quality connecting rods and rotating assemblies for a wide variety of applications, including Small and Big Block Chevy, Chevy LS, Small and Big Block Ford, Ford Modular, Vintage Ford, Small and Big Block Chrysler, Modern Hemi, Pontiac, Sport Compact, Motorcycle and Industrial. Additionally, SCAT can make a crankshaft from a raw billet to a finished crankshaft in their Redondo Beach, California, manufacturing facility.

Procar by SCAT, founded in 1980, offers stylish, comfortable aftermarket seats at an affordable price. Clean, classic lines are the hallmark of a Procar seat, which complements any auto – including street rod, cruiser, pony car, muscle car, off-road buggy, truck, or sport compact. Procar seats are easy to install with custom mounting brackets available for over 3,000 applications. The all-steel, TIG-welded frames are coated for ultimate strength and durability, while premium-grade fabrics and stitching will stand the test of time. Each Procar seat is built for style and most importantly, optimal comfort.

For more information visit www.scatcrankshafts.com and www.procarbyscat.com

About AFR

Over the last half-century, AFR has defined technological leadership and flow dynamics in the pursuit of increased performance for racing and street vehicles. The company proudly manufactures the majority of its components in house at its Valencia, California facility, from cylinder heads, intake manifolds and parts for a variety of customers in the performance automotive aftermarket. AFR’s early years were defined by the high-powered porting of cylinder heads with innovative techniques such as fast burning chambers, D-shaped big block Chevy exhaust ports, hurricane chambers, and CNC cylinder heads. AFR quickly established itself as a premier supplier to the fastest race teams in the country. AFR advanced to full production of cylinder heads in the early 1990s by incorporating advanced high-density cast aluminum technology into its production process. This feature allows the company to maintain full control of the design and porting technology and makes their aluminum cylinder heads available to a much broader customer base. AFR’s dedication to lean principles of continuous improvement has positioned the company as a leader for the foreseeable future. AFR continues to invest in the horsepower of tomorrow with new manufacturing technology, complex dyno testing, and proprietary CFD flow design methods. Keeping with its tradition of quality performance, AFR is committed to nurturing a new generation of racers and engineers to meet the demands of tomorrow’s engine builders.  For more information on AFR, please visit www.airflowresearch.com .

About Taglich Private Equity, LLC

Taglich Private Equity is a financial sponsor which has been investing since 2001 in lower middle market manufacturing, business service and consumer product companies. Taglich has completed transactions totaling over $650 million funded primarily with capital provided by Taglich Brothers, Inc., a full-service brokerage firm managing capital in both public and private investments. Taglich focuses on finding sound investment opportunities with capable management and delivering significant growth resources and capital to portfolio investments. For more information on Taglich Private Equity LLC please visit www.taglichpe.com.

Download the SCAT Crankshafts catalog.

Download the Procar by SCAT catalog.