ENERPULSE Ignition Products Developer Announces Great Harley Giveaway Winner

Sweepstakes to kick off Advance Auto Parts Motorcycle Parts Program

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – March 1, 2011 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – Ignition products company ENERPULSE, Inc. announced today that, Kyle Spear, winner of the “Great Harley Giveaway,” was presented his new Harley Davidson motorcycle by representatives of ENERPULSE and Advance Auto Parts at the Advance Auto Parts store in Centreville, VA. The sweepstakes kicks off a unique motorcycle parts program by Advance intended to offer motorcycling enthusiasts a reliable and readily available supply of commonly used motorcycle supplies, components and equipment.

One of these components featured in the “Motorcycle section” is the Pulstar pulse plug, a high-power discharge replacement for spark plugs. Developed by Albuquerque-based ENERPULSE, Pulstar(R) is the first technological advancement in spark plug design in the past 100 years. Pulse plugs improve combustion efficiency in all spark-ignited internal combustion engines, yielding better overall engine performance with fuel consumption and associated greenhouse gas reduction of as much as 10%.

Unlike spark plugs, pulse plugs have an integrated electrical circuit called a capacitor that improves the electrical-to-plasma conversion efficiency of the spark from less than 1% for spark plugs to over 50%. The intelligent energy management provides more robust spark improving engine combustion, yielding better fuel economy and engine performance.

Kyle Spear, winner of the sweepstakes, who had been saving his pennies for some time before submitting his entry form, said, “This was a dream come true for me. I was saving my money for a Harley and when I came in to my Advance Auto Parts store … there it was … the announcement for a brand new Harley Giveaway from Advance Auto and Pulstar pulse plugs. I said to myself, someone has to win … so I entered!”

About Advance Auto Parts
Headquartered in Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts, a leading automotive aftermarket retailer of parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items in the United States, serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets. As of October 9, 2010, the Company operated 3,540 stores in 39 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

Advance Auto Parts supports a variety of non-profit organizations at the corporate and local levels and encourages its Team Members to become actively involved in various community-based charitable organizations. Nationally, Advance Auto Parts is a strong supporter of United Way and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Since 1994, Advance Auto Parts has raised more than $25 million for JDRF, including a record-breaking campaign in 2010 which raised $4.8 million for diabetes research, making Advance Auto Parts JDRF’s number one corporate partner.

Additional information about the Company, employment opportunities, customer services, and online shopping for parts and accessories can be found on the Company’s web site at
http://www.AdvanceAutoParts.com

About ENERPULSE
ENERPULSE, a privately held company headquartered in Albuquerque, N.M., was founded in 1996. The company develops environmentally friendly ignition products through the application of pulse power technology. For more information, visit
http://www.pulstarplug.com
.

SOURCE: ENERPULSE, Inc.

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Castle Harlan Agrees to Acquire Manufacturer of Branded Automotive Air Conditioning Aftermarket Products

NEW YORK, NY – June 8, 2010 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – Castle Harlan, Inc., the New York private equity investment firm, announced today that an affiliate of Castle Harlan Partners V has signed a definitive agreement to acquire IDQ Holdings, Inc., the industry leader in Do-it-Yourself (“DIY”), branded automotive aftermarket products for servicing and repairing automotive air conditioners.

The transaction is expected to close in June and is subject to the satisfaction of various conditions.

Castle Harlan said the company will continue to operate under the IDQ name.  IDQ products, such as air conditioning recharge and retrofit kits, premium refrigerant blends, specialty chemicals, straight refrigerants, and a wide range of complimentary DIY and professional use items, are sold to consumers through a blue-chip customer base representing approximately 25,000 retail stores.  These include leading national chains, such as AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, Wal-Mart, O’Reilly, NAPA, Pep Boys, and others.  The company also sells a full range of commercial A/C products designed for automotive repair shops.

IDQ is being sold by Arsenal Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in New York.  IDQ is headquartered in Garland, Texas and has offices in Tarrytown, New York.  IDQ’s management will continue to operate the company and will be investing in the transaction alongside Castle Harlan Partners V.

IDQ CEO Michael Klein said, “We welcome the opportunity to be a part of Castle Harlan’s team.  The transaction will allow us to build on our already unparalleled breadth of product offerings and give our customers, and the market in general, a strong and shared cultural focus on quality, service and value.”

He also praised Castle Harlan’s “long history of partnering with management teams to realize shareholder value through superior customer service.”

Marcel Fournier, the senior managing director who led the Castle Harlan team, said the acquisition is “an opportunity to partner with a strong, experienced management team that has built the undisputed market leader in this sector of the aftermarket industry.”

Fournier added, “We at Castle Harlan look forward to working closely with IDQ to help it continue to grow in the years ahead.  We are confident that IDQ has tremendous upside potential and could also be a strong base on which to add, through acquisitions, some other valuable brands and products.”

The Valence Group acted as financial advisor to Castle Harlan in this transaction.

Castle Harlan, founded in 1987, invests in controlling interests in the buyout and development of middle-market companies in North America and Europe. Its team of 19 investment professionals has completed 50 acquisitions since its inception with a total value in excess of $9 billion.  Castle Harlan currently manages investment funds with equity commitments of $2.5 billion.  The firm traces its roots to the start of the institutionalized private-equity business in the late 1960s.

Castle Harlan’s current portfolio companies, which employ more than 42,000 people, include Ames True Temper, the manufacturer of lawn and garden tools and accessories, Baker & Taylor, the world’s largest distributor of books and entertainment products to libraries and retailers, and Pretium Packaging LLC, one of the country’s leading manufacturers of custom-designed specialty plastic containers for the food, pharmaceutical, personal-care and household markets.

SOURCE: Castle Harlan, Inc.

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Advance Auto Parts selects APT Market Basket Analyzer

Advance Auto Parts has chosen to license APT Market Basket Analyzer to drive more strategic decision-making.

Washington, DC – January 11, 2010 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – Applied Predictive Technologies, Inc. (APT), the leading provider of performance optimization solutions for CP Manufacturers and Retailers, announced today that Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP), a leading retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items has chosen to license APT Market Basket Analyzer.

Advance Auto Parts has several years of experience using APT’s Test & Learn™ Software-as-a-Service solutions to optimize a number of strategic and tactical initiatives. This month, Advance Auto Parts expands its partnership with APT with the licensing of APT Market Basket Analyzer, a fast, flexible tool that puts basket-level insights at the fingertips of decision-makers.

“Advance Auto Parts continually seeks to deliver more tailored, relevant and valuable offers to our customers,” said Charles Tyson, Senior Vice President, Merchandising. “Providing our decision-makers with APT Market Basket Analyzer, paired with our existing Test & Learn capability, helps us to achieve this objective.”

“APT is pleased to extend our partnership with Advance Auto Parts and support the company’s exceptional commitment to innovation and customer service,” said Graeme McVie, Senior Vice President, APT. “We are proud to offer sophisticated solutions that enable Advance Auto Parts to better meet the needs of their customers and compete vigorously in the marketplace.”

About Advance Auto Parts
Headquartered in Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts, Inc., a leading automotive aftermarket retailer of parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items in the United States, serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets. As of October 10, 2009, the Company operated 3,418 stores in 39 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Additional information about the Company, employment opportunities, customer services and online shopping for parts and accessories can be found on the Company’s website at www.AdvanceAutoParts.com.

About Applied Predictive Technologies
APT is the world leader in helping organizations harness the potential of Test & Learn, a powerful fact-based approach for choosing, targeting, and tailoring strategic and tactical actions for maximum impact and profitability. More than 50 Global 2000 leaders have licensed APT’s Test & Learn software, including Starbucks, Kraft, Wells Fargo, Holiday Inn, Staples, Lowe’s, Victoria’s Secret, Food Lion, and Toronto Dominion. APT has offices in London, San Francisco, Taipei, and Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.predictivetechnologies.com.

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