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WHITEHALL GROUPP R O V I D I N G S E R V I C E S T O C O M P A N I E S I N T R A N S I T I O N

 focuDecember 2012

hope with the election behind us and the holiday season in front of us that this newsletter finds you well.has been quite a ride over the past few years with a lot of challenges and changes, in both our business and

ersonal lives. The one thing that has been consistent is change, and it seems like the pace has increased.Whitehall has been no exception and we are evolving to keep up with the needs of our customers. 

When I founded Whitehall over 20 years ago, we were best known as an automotive turnaround andestructuring firm doing a lot of interim management and supplier development work. As time went on, weeveloped a very strong financial team and could address most issues facing the industry.

Our capabilities to understand processes could quickly guide a company to reduce costs, improve quality andelivery, and make significant improvements to the bottom line. While improving performance we also drove culture channstalled daily metrics and established organizational accountability. These are our roots and our DNA of assisting companies

making significant operational improvements. In 2012, we were recognized as a Manufacturing Leadership (ML) 100 awwinner for one of our turnaround projects.

We were always involved in buying and selling companies, identifying technology issues and managing nonautomottuations, yet these areas of expertise were not widely visible and in many cases we had to outsource some portion of our woue to licensing constraints and a lack of specific skill sets on staff.

Over the past few years, we have built upon our strengths and addressed areas that we needed to bring “in house” in ordermeet the needs of customers in today’s marketplace. We wanted to do that without losing sight of our core strengths and market needs.

Today, Automotive is still at our roots, as we provide “supplier development and risk identification/mitigation” to many lar

Automotive companies. But the majority of our clients over the past 5 years have been manufacturing and distribution compann almost every industry, from a 100 year-old candy company to a major consumer products manufacturing company, tompany servicing the waste water treatment industry.

We have also added a strong team in the technology field with industry expertise as Chief Information Officers for maompanies and a process and system specialist with deep expertise in process redesign, system evaluations and implementatio

We know how to improve the bottom line for manufacturing and service companies.

Traditionally we worked with companies in trouble or had major issues that needed to be addressed. Today we are spending mf our time with companies who are profitable and want to address a specific business need, such as improving quality or servevels, or reducing inventory or costs to put more profits on the bottom line.

inally, today’s companies seem to be faced with two options: grow and acquire, or sell. In either case, having the curre

peration running as optimally as possible creates the opportunity for both options. Guiding companies in that transition is whwe do best. We now have the ability to assist in the “Buy/Sell” process through our partnership with the McLean Group L27 offices around the country) who was named Middle Market Firm of the Year in 2012. In addition McLean’s valuatractice did over 300 valuations last year and their market intelligence practice is one of the country’s best. We have aeveloped strong working relationships with other private equity firms that are constantly looking for investment opportunities

The bottom line is that we have built on our strengths and core competencies and brought those complementary servicesouse to better serve any manufacturing or distribution company's’ needs. 

We are excited about these changes and hope to continue building on our relationship with you. Our goal is to maintain oeputation as an organization that can assist your firm or your customers and their supply base in this ever changing and veemanding environment.

A Whitehall update from Joe Bione...

Happy Holidays and thank you from all of us at Whitehall.

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WHITEHALL GROUPP R O V I D I N G S E R V I C E S T O C O M P A N I E S I N T R A N S I T I O N

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What We Have Been Up To Lately

In the last few months, the Whitehall Group has taken on several key projects for clients that demonstrate our ability todrive value for companies in transition. These clients’ needs ranged from interim management to operational andfinancial support, but in each case, required Whitehall to serve as a catalyst to realize the strategy execution and deliver results:

Successful Interim Management for a $500 MM global manufacturer owned by three large private equitygroups: Our team held key interim management positions in a leading manufacturer of PET plastic containers,and delivered outstanding operational results. The entity was able to stabilize revenue anddeliver profits for the first time in eight years. This strong performance followed a bankruptcyand re-organization of the company in less than five months, including taking the companyfrom public to private. Joe Bione, our President, was recognized with a 2012 ManufacturingLeadership Award from Manufacturing Executive in the Turnaround Category for his work with the client. This

 prestigious award confirms Joe’s contributions over an extended period of time as well as his turnaround successon this project.

Achieving a more competitive lead time for a $500 MM component manufacturer. This organization wasseeking to grow its business in the commercial market as its military sales decreased, and its product lead time became a competitive disadvantage. We were engaged to accelerate ongoing efforts in demand and supplyoptimization, and helped deliver a global process to establish a demand forecast for operational planning purposes. Along the way, we helped the client identify multi-million dollar savings in inventory, supportedefforts with supplier quality, and positioned the organization to drive top-line revenue.

Identifying the growth constraints for an expanding manufacturer. We performed an assessment of a privatelyheld business that had experienced rapid growth for the prior three years and then plateaued. Our work identifiedgrowth constraints in information flow, metrics and accountability. Then we facilitated strategic sessions for theleadership team and owners to align objectives and deliver on strategy execution. We have since become atrusted advisor to the company, and facilitated the hire of one of their new executives.

Performed a financial viability review and operational support for two entities on behalf of their lenders. In thefirst, we assessed the sales process, pipeline, quoting, and performance metrics, and implemented a more selectiveand strategic approach to quoting This enabled the company to close $4 million in saleswithin four weeks of our work , and the lender to agree to a plan for an increased LOC andfunding needs over the next nine months. In the second, we established a 26-week cash flowfor a manufacturer that had never viewed the business in that manner, and enabled additionalfinancing of $300,000 and a LOC increase of over 30%.

Rich Pirrotta, Managing Director  - Whitehall Group 

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WHITEHALL GROUPP R O V I D I N G S E R V I C E S T O C O M P A N I E S I N T R A N S I T I O N

 focuWhitehall Partners with The McLean Group to Provide Expanded Services to Our Customers

Many business owners are asking today “What’s next for my company? Should I continue to grow the company profitablon its current business base, acquire an add-on business, or start the exit process and eventually sell the business?Whitehall, through our partnership with The McLean Group, now has the ability to support companies in either mode of transition  

Founded in 1997, The McLean Group is a national, middle market investment bank with deep expertise in a variety of industry verticals. Headquartered in McLean, VA,, The McLean Group is among the largest independent middle marketinvestment banks in the region. Its umbrella of services includes Mergers & Acquisitions, Business Valuation, StrategicConsulting, Market Intelligence and Competitive Analysis, and Operational Improvement. In recent years, The McLeanGroup has been building a global reputation for excellence: Acquisition International named it the USA Middle Market

Investment Bank of the Year in 2012.

Steve Findlay, a McLean Group Managing Director, observes, “The McLean Group’s recentaffiliation with the Whitehall Group significantly expands our service offerings and provides expanded capabilities to work with companies in transition. A prospectiveclient may be a good company wanting to get better; a small company seeking togrow; a large company wanting to divest; a troubled company looking to improve its performance, or an owner wanting to sell and retire. Working with Whitehall Partners,

The McLean Group can help all such client. We listen closely to our clients and customize the appropriatesolution and expertise needed to accomplish their goals.”

Steve Findlay — Managing Director - Whitehall and McLean Group

Our core advisory services include:

As a core competency and complement to its merger &acquisition business, The McLean Group provides businessvaluation services, including intangible asset and financialsecurity valuations for a variety of transaction, financial

reporting and tax purposes.

By creating superior competitive analyses, we providexecutives with comprehensive market intelligence reporthat reduce risk and uncertainty in strategic decisio

making.

Our team of experienced bankers understands tcomplexities and risks involved in buying a company, anwe work with our clients to control the process anmitigate potential risk by providing sound strategy an

valuation guidance based on comprehensive research.

Our sell side advisory services address a wide range of  business succession and shareholder liquidity objectives.The McLean Group applies a comprehensive approach toall client engagements. We guide our sell side clientsthrough the intricacies of each transaction stage, from pre-deal strategic planning to identifying and negotiating with

 prospective suitors, to due diligence support and closing.

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WHITEHALL GROUPP R O V I D I N G S E R V I C E S T O C O M P A N I E S I N T R A N S I T I O N

 focu

WHITEHALL GROUP, L.L.C

801 W. Big Beaver Rd. , Suite 4Troy, MI 48084-4759(248) 519-1072 Phone  

www.whitehallgroupllc.com

For more information on how Whitehall can help you, please

contact: Joe Bione at bione@whitehallgroupllc.com

Technology Services

As part of a focus on improving current business performance, bridging a temporary resource gap, or in preparationor a strategic business change, securing appropriate IT capabilities and leadership remain critical for success.

Organizations in transition can find themselves in a situation where short-term and long-term technology needs arenclear. Often, past technology choices and delivery strategies need to be reassessed along with organizations’

volving priorities and transition initiatives.uccessful organizations treat the alignment of IT capabilities as a continuous activity of verification anddjustment. Utilizing an IT business professional helps assure that all strategic IT functions remain in balance withnterprise objectives.

Whitehall’s Technology Services are focused on the agenda of business transition through technolo

enabled lean operations, guided performance improvement, competitive sourcing and modedelivery strategies. Based on client need and timing, we provide vendor independent suppo

for:

Guided TransitionsLeadership ServicesPortfolio Alignment

Through our Technology Services, businesses of any size can secure experienced, trustresources to provide IT business guidance and leadership to help top management establish the

 best IT strategy and objective-based spending decisions.

Rick Va

Technology Trends

Companies today need an adaptive and flexible business design to create on-going valueor all stakeholders. Today, a business must be able to leverage new technologies thatupport strategies to remain competitive in this ever changing global economy.

Technologies like cloud computing, Software as-a-Service (SaaS), and Mobile, are starting to drive decisions whenelecting the appropriate IT/IS platform.  The general consensus in today’s enterprise software space is that cloudomputing and SaaS are the waves of the future. Industry analysts and vendor sales representatives are proclaiminghat SaaS Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are cheaper, faster, and easier, while traditional ERPendors are doing what they can to avoid being perceived as “Big Costly ERP” solution providers.  

By now, 92 percent of manufacturers have implemented some level of ERP*. Still, recent data finds that a successful ERP pr

oes well beyond just implementation. ERP, and the organization itself, should be constantly moving forward to imprperations. Successful manufacturers tailor their ERP systems in an effort to stay connected to a dynamic business climate. Tan include adding new functionality or mobile access.

The Whitehall Group LLC guides companies through the complexity of the “new global economy” by designing and deploolutions (like SaaS) that rapidly transform business leadership, workforce and infrastructure. Recognizing the importance oflobal technology trend the Whitehall Group LLC has established an implementation partnership with Plex Systems. artnership builds on our ongoing efforts to deliver value to our clients.

Bill Gag

IT Functions