Huntington Capital, Fund II, a San Diego based, lower-middle market, mezzanine fund has announced an additional investment in portfolio company Advanced Structured Alloys (ASA). The new financing is part of a preferred equity co-investment with Crosse Partners and the capital will be used to support a new market opportunity in the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) sector.

The CNG aluminum liner project is one of several projects that are expected to transition ASA from an automotive parts manufacturing company into a technology and alternative fuel/clean energy based company.

ASA is a high-end manufacturer of specialty forged aluminum automotive products located in Oxnard, CA. The company has developed unique manufacturing capabilities allowing it to design, engineer and produce high-quality, forged and spin formed aluminum products for a broad range of market segments. Since Huntington’s initial investment in ASA, the company’s operational and financial performance has significantly improved while creating new jobs in a prominently blue-collar community with a high unemployment rate.

The high-tech aluminum cylinders are designed specifically for CNG-powered medium and heavy-duty vehicles (buses, trash trucks, and 18-wheelers). This strategic opportunity to utilize its manufacturing capabilities to build a new division focused on the alternative fuel and clean energy sector is expected to drive growth and lead to increased green economic activity. In 2011, ASA became the first company in the U.S. to receive formal certification to manufacture a large diameter Type 3 aluminum liner for the 300-liter CNG market. ASA expects to receive certification for the 400L, 500L, and 600L cylinders in 2012. CNG is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline, diesel, or propane/LNG and is generally regarded as a more environmentally clean alternative to gasoline, diesel and propane.

“We anticipate that this clean technology opportunity is capable of creating an additional 50 new jobs at ASA in 2012,” said Tim Bubnack, managing partner at Huntington Capital. “ASA has been a leading example of our focus on underserved companies with a successful and differentiated baseline business that is leveraging its core capabilities to develop new products that address broader markets. We are excited about the financial potential of the CNG cylinder program and proud that ASA is having a measurable impact on the community of Oxnard, California.”

Based in San Diego, CA, Huntington Capital is a leading mezzanine capital provider to lower middle-market companies throughout California and the Southwestern United States.