[5] American Industrial Partners was founded in 1988; according to Indianapolis News, the partnership primary consisted of CEOs who resigned following the takeovers of their companies.
[6] Unlike some contemporary investment firms,[7] rather than perform leveraged buyouts, AIP claims to focus on improving the profitability of acquired companies.
[8] After acquiring companies, it would focus on "cutting debt and improving operations" while adopting a "hands-off management style" that typically retained previous leadership.
[7] Ian Johnson of the Baltimore Sun attributed this conservative financial strategy to AIP's partners, mostly CEOs who had been unseated from their previous companies through hostile takeovers financed by debt.
[7] In 1993, the firm purchased the Sweetheart Holdings, Inc., then the largest producer of disposable cups, plates, and straws in the United States,[10] for US$445.6 million.
[16] In August 2010 the company merged Collins Industries, E-One, Halcore Group and Fleetwood Enterprises – acquired between 2007 and 2010 – to form Allied Specialty Vehicles.