H.I.G. Capital Announces Investment in K&K Iron Works

MIAMI – September 20, 2006 – H.I.G. Capital, a leading Miami-based private equity firm, announced today that it has completed an investment in K&K Iron Works, Inc. K&K Iron Works (K&K), based in Chicago, Illinois, is a leading engineering design firm that fabricates and erects structural steel components and custom building features for its customers. As one of the largest providers of structural steel in the Midwest, K&K provides its one-stop, bundled construction services to nearly all of the largest general contractors, real estate developers and public works departments operating in the region. The Company has established long-standing relationships with over 150 significant customers by consistently providing high-quality, safe and reliable construction solutions. K&K operates three facilities in Illinois.

H.I.G. partnered with the Company’s founders to complete the transaction. The Company was started in 1976 by Karl Kulhanek Sr. His two sons, Karl Kulhanek Jr. and Jerry Kulhanek, joined K&K as President and Chief Operating Officer, respectively, after graduating from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. Under their leadership, K&K has continued to grow its revenues, facilities, equipment, capabilities and infrastructure in order to become the leading regional provider of steel-based construction solutions in the Chicago-land area.

“We saw a massive opportunity to grow the business, as there are no competitors in our geographic region offering the full spectrum of our design, fabrication, installation and erection services in-house, as we do,” commented Karl Kulhanek Jr., President of K&K. “We are very enthusiastic about H.I.G. Capital’s commitment to K&K, and the expertise and capital they will provide to take it to the next level.”

Jerry Kulhanek, K&K’s Chief Operating Officer added, “One of the reasons that we’re excited to be partnering with an investor like H.I.G. is that they have been in this position before of building up a family-run organization. Karl and I look forward to the next chapter of K&K, as we work with H.I.G. to better serve our growing and loyal customer base.”

“We are very pleased to add K&K to our growing portfolio of entrepreneurial, service-based businesses,” said Jeff Zanarini of H.I.G. Capital. “We have great confidence that the Kulhanek family will continue to profitably grow the business and the new infusion of personnel and capital will enable K&K to take advantage of the strong customer demand for the Company’s bundled construction services, via significant infrastructure and growth investments.”

About K&K Iron Works
K&K Iron Works is a leading engineering design firm that fabricates and erects structural steel components and custom building features for significant general contractors, real estate developers and municipalities in the Chicago-land area. Founded in 1976, K&K provides its customers one-stop, bundled construction services via state-of-the-art CAD capabilities, three quality production facilities, and an in-house field workforce dedicated to timely and safe installations. K&K, based in McCook, Illinois, is one of the largest regional providers of structural steel and is the only Illinois-based operator certified in both fabrication and erection by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). For more information, please visit www.kkironworks.com.

About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. Capital, L.L.C. is a leading private equity and venture capital investment firm with more than $3 billion of equity capital under management. Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, and San Francisco, H.I.G. specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies with attractive growth potential. H.I.G. invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of profitable and well-managed manufacturing or service businesses, and in promising early-stage technology companies. The firm currently has a controlling interest in more than 40 companies with combined revenues in excess of $5 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.hig.com.