Ames True Temper: Past, Present and Future...

We are a leading North American manufacturer and marketer of non-powered lawn and garden products including tools and decorative accessories.

We sell our products primarily in the U.S. and Canada through (1) retail centers, including home centers and mass merchandisers, (2) wholesale chains, including hardware stores and garden centers, and (3) industrial distributors. We have a large portfolio of recognized brands that enables us to channel manage and offer specific branding strategies for key retail customers. We believe that our global manufacturing strategy, based primarily upon a blend of domestic manufacturing and sourced product, makes us cost-competitive while allowing us to provide a high level of customer service.

Our brands are among the most recognized across our primary product categories in the North American non-powered lawn and garden products market. Our brand portfolio includes Ames, True Temper, Ames True Temper and Stanley (licensed from The Stanley Works), as well as contractor-oriented brands including Union Tools, Razor-Back, Jackson Professional Tools, and John Deere (licensed from Deere & Company). This strong portfolio of brands allows us to build and maintain long-standing relationships with the leading companies that sell our product categories.

Our History

Ames True Temper was formed in 1999 when Ames and its then parent, USI, acquired True Temper from the Huffy Corporation, combining two non-powered lawn and garden tool and accessory companies with market leadership positions in long handle tools and wheelbarrows. Ames, founded in 1774, only manufactured shovels for much of its history. However, over the last three decades, Ames acquired several companies to expand its product lines and geographical reach. For example, in 1991, Ames acquired Garant, a Canadian lawn and garden tool manufacturer. In 1997, Ames acquired Woodings-Verona and IXL in two separate transactions, adding striking tool and hickory handle manufacturing capabilities, respectively.

Founded in 1809 in Vermont, True Temper started as a manufacturer of agricultural products, particularly shovels and other digging tools. Like Ames, True Temper also expanded its product lines through acquisitions. In 1981, True Temper acquired Jackson Manufacturing, a leading manufacturer of wheelbarrows and carts. In addition, True Temper acquired Meaford Steel Products, a leading Canadian wheelbarrow manufacturer, in 1996, and SuperLight, a leading aluminum rake manufacturer, in 1997.

As part of a restructuring plan, USI decided to divest Predecessor Company II in 2001. Wind Point Partners, a private equity investment firm, in conjunction with Richard Dell, our current president and chief executive officer, and Duane Greenly, our current chief operating officer, purchased Predecessor Company II in January 2002. Since that time, we completed five acquisitions to complement our product portfolio and enhance our sourcing capabilities. In November 2002, we acquired Dynamic Design, a leading supplier of plastic and foam flowerpots, outdoor planters, window boxes, indoor planters and hanging baskets. In May 2003, we acquired Outdoor Inspirations, to enter the garden hose market. In August 2003, we acquired Greenlife, a leading supplier of non-powered lawn and garden tools manufactured in China.

In June 2004, affiliates of Castle Harlan, Inc., a New York-based private-equity investment firm, together with certain of our employees, completed the acquisition of our company. In order to acquire our company, CHATT Holdings, Inc., "the buyer", and CHATT Holdings LLC, "the buyer-parent", were formed. Upon completion of the acquisition, affiliates of Castle Harlan, Inc. owned approximately 87% of the buyer-parent and management owned approximately 13%. In April 2006 we completed the acquistion of Union Tools and Hound Dog Products.

To learn more about Castle Harlan, their professionals, and their investment portfolio, please visit
www.castleharlan.com

Products

Utilizing a variety of brand names, we manufacture and market one of the broadest product portfolios in the non-powered lawn and garden industry. We currently offer 14 distinct product lines, anchored by two core product categories: long handle tools and wheelbarrows.

We believe that, as a result of our high product quality, high level of customer service and strong customer relationships, we have earned market-leading positions in the following six product lines: long handle tools, wheelbarrows, snow tools, striking tools, lawn carts and repair handles.

The following is a description of each of our product lines:

Long Handle Tools: Our long handle tool product offering consists of shovels, spades, scoops, rakes, hoes, cultivators, weeders, post hole diggers, scrapers, edgers, forks and hooks. We offer numerous types of heads, including plastic and steel, and various handles manufactured from wood, engineered polymers and fiberglass. We currently offer over 1,600 SKUs in this category. Long handle tools are marketed under numerous brand names including Ames, True Temper, Jackson Professional Tools, Union Tools, Razor-Back, Garant and more.

Wheelbarrows: We manufacture a full line of wheelbarrows, primarily under the True Temper, Jackson and Garant brand names. We offer both poly and steel wheelbarrows at a full range of price points for a multitude of tasks.
 

Planters: With our acquisition of Dynamic Design, we became a supplier of plastic and foam flower pots, outdoor planters, window boxes, indoor planters and hanging baskets. We source most of our pots and planters line from manufacturing facilities abroad. All of our pots and planters are sold under the Dynamic Design brand. Recently, for both indoor and outdoor use, we introduced the Ceramic-Lite series of polyurethane-molded planters and urns designed to look like glazed and polished ceramic pots. We also added a new line of fiberglass pots and planters in 2005.

Hose Reels: We sell rotating, portable, freestanding and swivel hose reels for the home gardener and industrial customer. Hose reels are designed to keep hoses from getting tangled, while providing compact storage of hoses when not in use. Our hose reels are available in portable, wheeled and wall-mount versions. We also offer a line of patio and deck hose reels. We market our hose reels under the Ames brand name.
 

Snow Tools: We manufacture and distribute numerous types of snow tools, including shovels, pushers, roof rakes, sled scoops, and ice scrapers, with plastic, steel and aluminum heads. We recently introduced our new Snow Plow which clears snow significantly faster than traditional shovels and is designed to remove snow without heavy lifting, which is appealing to many older consumers. We make these products under the Ames, Garant and True Temper brand names.
 

Striking Tools: We offer a wide range of striking tools, including axes, picks, mallets, mauls, wood splitters and sledgehammers. These products are marketed under the True Temper, Jackson Professional Tools, Garant and Woodings brand names.
 

Decorative Accessories: We offer a wide variety of poly accessories, including edging, fencing, splash blocks and trellises marketed under the Ames brand.
 

Lawn Carts: Lawn carts typically are used for transporting everything from plants and mulches to garden debris, sticks and rocks. Lawn carts have molded-in tool holders for ease of carrying tools. Their flat bottom design is useful for carrying plants and easy dumping. Our lawn carts are marketed under the Ames brand.
 

Pruning Tools: We offer a broad line of pruning tools, including grass, pruning, lopping, hedge and pole pruning tools, as well as a variety of trimming saws and cutting tools.
 

Repair Handles: We manufacture an extensive line of repair handles for lawn and garden tools, such as long handle tools, snow tools and striking tools. Our repair handles are marketed under our Garant and IXL brand names.
 

Garden Hoses: We supply light, medium and heavy-duty garden hoses.

In addition to the brands listed above, we also utilize unbranded products to capture the opening price point at major retailers. While this category does not generate significant revenues, it is an important part of our step up strategy. As an example, we use opening price point products for our long handle tools to strengthen the position of that category's "good", "better" and "best" product lines.

Product Development

Our product development efforts focus on new products and product line extensions.

We develop products through our in-house engineering staff and through our relationships with a number of outside product engineering and design firms. In addition, starting in 2002, we established "core teams" to introduce new products more quickly and cost efficiently. The core teams, headed by each product category's marketing director, consist of eight members, one from each functional department. These core teams are empowered to execute the respective category's strategic plan.

Examples of recent new product initiatives include a line of pots and planters that weigh substantially less than traditional ceramics and are shatter and crack resistant, our retractable hose reel, which won Popular Mechanic's 2004 Editors Choice Award, and a line of GardenScapes tools that cater to women and older consumers. These tools are smaller, lighter and easier to use than full-sized tools but still retain the strength and durability specifications of their full-sized counterparts.

Sales & Marketing

Our sales organization is structured by distribution channel in the U.S. and by country internationally. In the U.S., we have dedicated a team of sales professionals to each of our large retail customers. We maintain offices adjacent to each of our three largest customers' headquarters, as well as in-house dedicated sales analysts. In addition, we have assigned sales professionals to our domestic wholesale and industrial distribution channels. We also have sales teams located in Canada and Ireland to handle our Canadian and European sales efforts, respectively.

To assist our clients in marketing our products and responding to new customer trends, the core teams, headed by a product-marketing director focused on each product line. Each team is responsible for implementing category-specific marketing strategies, including SKU rationalization and support for key accounts.

We offer internal graphic capabilities to design catalogs, labels, point of sale and other sales materials. In addition, we monitor point of sale and sell-through activity to identify product opportunities and develop merchandizing programs to help our customers achieve their sales objectives. We also work closely with external research firms, design studios and product engineering organizations to identify and capitalize on emerging consumer and professional trends.

Contact Info:

Ames True Temper Company
465 Railroad Avenue
Camp Hill, PA 17011
TEL: (800) 833-3068
FAX: (717) 730-2552
Email: info@ames-truetemper.com

About Us