|
|
|
Gentlemen, Restart Your Engines
(NYSE: TRP)
100 Gando Dr. New Haven 06513
203-401-6450
www.transpro.com
President & CEO :
Charles E. Johnson
Annual Revenues (FYE December 31, 2001); $203,312,000
Reported Gross Margin (FYE December 31, 2001): 12.6%
No. Employees: 1,549
|
Business New Haven
4/15/2002
By: BNH
|
In 1915, G&O began operating in New Haven as a manufacturer of radiators for custom-built automobiles, fire engines and original equipment radiators for the Ford Motor Co.
Today, that company is TransPro Inc. It designs, manufactures and markets heating and cooling products, which it distributes primarily throughout North America.
The company targets two markets. Its automotive and heavy truck aftermarket includes products and services - such as radiators, heater cores and air-conditioning parts - for the maintenance and repair of automobiles, vans, light and heavy trucks. For original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the company produces individual component parts - radiators, charge air coolers and oil coolers - for automobiles, vans and light and heavy trucks.
Among its customers are AutoZone, Pep Boys and Mack Truck Inc.
By 2000, TransPro was underperforming, weighed down by its Crown Division specialty metal fabrication business and a cost-inefficient distribution system. In September of that year, it suspended its five-cent-per-share quarterly cash dividend and ousted its chief executive officer, Henry McHale.
In March 2001 its board appointed a 32-year automotive industry veteran, Charles E. Johnson, as president and CEO. The company announced restructuring plans at the end of the second quarter of that year.
The 2000 sale of the specialty metals fabrication business, undertaken so that the company could focus on its core business, added $37.5 million to the business's coffers. Late last year, the company started aluminum heat exchanger production capability in Mexico, which extended its manufacturing capacity there.
With considerable unused space at its Gando Drive headquarters, the company entered into an agreement to sell its building. After the sale is completed, TransPro will continue to lease its space on Gando Drive for its corporate headquarters, wind-tunnel testing and tube mill. The company has also, according to Johnson, gained “substantial” new customers.
It has also revamped its distribution system by introducing the “hub-and-spoke” model into its new branch distribution network. Hub-and-spoke refers to the use of a master warehouse for a given region. That warehouse then feeds smaller warehouses on a local basis or supports delivery routes within a region to meet specific customer needs.
Toward that end, the company closed two branches in the fourth quarter of 2001, bringing the total number of closed branches to nine for the year. According to Johnson, the advantage to the company's new distribution system is that TransPro will be able to keep a broader range of products at each “hub,” while having less inventory on hand overall.
The aftermarket and OEM sectors are seasonal businesses - typically strong in the second and third quarters and weak in the fourth and first quarters. Still, on March 20, TransPro reported improved operating results for the fourth quarter on a quarter-over-quarter basis for the second consecutive quarter, absent restructuring and other special charges.
Its operating loss in the year 2001, excluding restructuring and other special charges, was $8.5 million. However, the operating loss before restructuring and other special charges for the second half of 2001 was $1.5 million, relative to a first-half loss of $7.0 million and a 2000 second half loss of $8.1 million. Net sales were $203.3 million in 2001 - absolutely flat with the previous year. Reported gross margin for 2001 was $25.5 million, or 12.6 percent.
From a five-year high of 11.5 on October 22, 1997, TransPro's stock fell to 1.85 in October 2001. It reached a 52-week high of 4.76 two weeks ago on April 1. That day, its market capitalization stood at $27 million.
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
