Global Fastener News

TriMas Makes Second Attempt At IPO

Jason Sandefur

Hoping to raise about $200 million, fastener maker TriMas Corp. made a second attempt to go public a year after calling off its first IPO, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
TriMas, which has been trying to sell its Lake Erie Products business, including Entegra Fastener and Lake Erie Screw, since April, initially filed for a $230 million IPO in May 2005, but pulled the offering after its credit rating was downgraded.
Owned by Heartland Industrial Partners, TriMas recently refinanced $410 million in debt to improve its cash flow and increase its chances for a successful IPO. TriMas did not state the quantity or price of shares in its SEC filing. The company intends to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker TRS.
TriMas has seen success with its other fastener business, Monogram Aerospace Fasteners Inc., which reported 24% revenue growth to $62.73 million in 2005. Monogram operating profit soared 75% to $15.63 million.
In its 2005 annual report CEO Grant Beard said material costs have put “tremendous pressure ” on overall earnings, with material margins declining by $41 million due to steel and resin cost hikes.
“We have a history of net losses,” the company claimed in its IPO filing. TriMas incurred losses of $45.9 million in 2005, $2.2 million in 2004, and $30.9 million in 2003. The Bloomfield, MI-based company took a $41.6 million impairment charge in the fourth quarter of 2005 after listing Lake Erie as discontinued operations.
The company reported revenues of $1.01 billion in 2005.
TriMas has 3,100 employees at 15 U.S. manufacturing facilities, and another 1,900 employees at 12 factories in Australia, Canada, China, the UK, Italy, Thailand, Germany and Mexico. Web: trimascorp.com �2006 FastenerNews.com