LAKEWOOD, N.J. – Coni-Seal, the global manufacturer of aftermarket undercar automotive parts, has announced that co-founder and chairman Robert Pagano will be retiring at the end of the year. In conjunction with Pagano’s retirement, the company recently explored several strategic options and is in the final stages of recapitalization negotiations with several prominent players in the automotive aftermarket industry.
Coni-Seal CEO and co-founder Frank Pagano said his father was very instrumental in the company’s success. Robert Pagano began working in a family repair business that was started by his father in the early 1900s. He quickly gained a working knowledge of vehicles by supervising a team of mechanics at what was then the largest truck brake repair facility in northern New Jersey. In the late 1970s, he opened an auto brake parts manufacturing company and was an early supplier of disc brake pads. Coni-Seal originally focused on hydraulic brake parts only. Beginning in the 1990s, the company was an early entrant into Asia, sourcing quality brake parts at attractive price points. Today, the company’s product line consists primarily of hydraulic parts, including wheel cylinders, master cylinders, brake hoses and clutch hydraulics, and a broad range of chassis parts including ball joints, tie rod ends, center links and control arms. In 2006, Coni-Seal launched a limited line of front and rear hub bearings.
Through the years, Coni-Seal has been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards, including the CARQUEST Red Line Hydraulics Outstanding Order Fill Award (98.6 percent) for five consecutive years, the Frost & Sullivan 2005 Lean Manufacturing Leadership Award for cost-efficient production of hydraulic brake components for the North American aftermarket, the Pronto Award for Supplier of the Year and the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance Award for excellent fill rates.
Pagano noted, “Since the founding of the company in 1982, no other equity capital was ever raised, but the capital requirements and complexity of new product introductions now require different thinking. Today’s times call for existing family businesses to seek larger amounts of capital to support the growing consolidation at the retail and wholesale distribution points of the industry. We have increased sales by almost 35 percent in the last two years and decided to raise outside capital to assist with this growth. Accordingly, we retained Capstone Financial Group to outline strategic options and help us finalize an industry alliance. We will soon announce a new equity capital structure at the company and expect the transaction to close within 60 days.
Capstone is an investment banking firm that provides financial advisory services to private middle-market companies, with a specialization for more than 20 years in the auto aftermarket. The firm was founded in 1988 and operates from its offices in Hilton Head, S.C.
