North American Fund III Invests In Actown-Electrocoil, Inc.

CHICAGO, IL (January 13, 1998). North American Fund III announced today that it has made a significant investment in Actown-Electrocoil, Inc. of Spring Grove, Illinois. Terms of the transaction were not announced.

Actown is a custom manufacturer of magnetic devices for a diverse customer base in various industries including telecommunications, lighting, industrial controls, automotive, environmental, medical and aerospace. Actown's products include high voltage, power and surface mount transformers, custom coils and chip inductors. The company also has its own line of transformers and related products for neon lighting applications.

David Weisberg, President of Actown, said that Actown was seeking a financial partner to assist the existing management owners in funding Actown's growth. Actown has made significant capital expenditures in recent years to better serve its various customers. In addition to its Spring Grove, Illinois location, the company currently services its customers from facilities in Baraboo, Wisconsin; Chicago, Illinois; and El Paso, Texas. The company intends to continue this internal growth strategy.

Actown also intends to actively pursue an acquisition strategy in the highly fragmented custom magnetics industry. The Company previously acquired Industrial Coils of Baraboo, Wisconsin in 1996.

Charles Palmer, North American's President, said that the Fund was pleased to be partnering with Actown's excellent management team. Actown has had a consistent and steady growth pattern since the mid-1980's. Palmer said that North American looks forward to helping management continue and accelerate Actown's growth.

North American Fund III is one of the North American Funds, which are partnerships of institutional investors with approximately $115 million in equity capital that specialize in acquiring small businesses with annual revenues of $5 million to $35 plus million and developing them into significantly larger enterprises. Investors in the Funds are a select group of prestigious investors that includes Ameritech's pension trust, American Family Mutual Insurance Company, the University of Texas System's endowment funds, and other major institutional investors. North American, headquartered in Chicago, has acquired eighteen companies in a wide variety of industries since its formation in 1989 and plans to acquire additional companies that fit its objectives.