COLMAR, Pa. -- Dorman Products has sold the assets of its catalytic converter business to Eastern Manufacturing, Inc., and has entered into a joint venture agreement with Eastern Catalytic to mutually develop, manufacture and distribute an integrated exhaust manifold and converter product line.

Total proceeds from the sale are expected to approximate the book value of these assets in Dorman's financial statements. Dorman expects to record severance and shutdown expenses of approximately $300,000 as a result of the sale.

Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, Dorman and Eastern Catalytic will co-develop and market a line of integrated exhaust manifold and catalytic converters for the traditional, retail and export automotive channels. In addition, the arrangement will enable Dorman to offer Eastern Catalytic's full line of direct fit catalytic converters to the automotive aftermarket.

Dorman will continue to maintain its Canadian distribution facility for its Dorman-branded line of automotive aftermarket products.

Steven Berman, president of Dorman, said, "The Eastern Catalytic joint venture agreement will enable us to work together with a strong manufacturing partner so that together we can accelerate the introduction of a broader line of integrated exhaust manifolds and catalytic converters to the aftermarket. We also look forward to adding Eastern Catalytic's full line of direct fit converters to our product portfolio. We believe our Canadian distribution center for Dorman-branded product will continue to grow as a result of the substantial new product growth scheduled for our OE Solutions line."