reduction in sales as compared to 2008, and have helped to facilitate the 370 basis point gross profit margin expansion in 2010 as compared to 2009, given our lower cost structure is able to support our higher sales levels. There were no significant charges recorded in 2010 related to further implementation of our Profit Improvement Plan initiatives.

        The most significant element of our Profit Improvement Plan implemented during 2009 was the restructuring of our legacy towing, trailering and electrical businesses within our Cequent North America reportable segment into one business, rationalizing facilities and the management team. This restructuring plan included the closure of the Mosinee, WI manufacturing facility, with the production and distribution functions previously located in Mosinee being relocated to lower-cost manufacturing facilities or to third party sourcing partners.

        In 2008, our most significant action was the restructuring of our organizational structure within our corporate office.

        Key Indicators of Performance.    In evaluating our business, our management has historically considered Adjusted EBITDA as a key indicator of financial operating performance and as a measure of cash generating capability. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) before cumulative effect of accounting change, interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, debt extinguishment costs, non-cash asset and goodwill impairment charges and write-offs and non-cash losses on sale-leaseback of property and equipment. Management believed that consideration of Adjusted EBITDA, together with a careful review of our results reported under GAAP, was the best way to analyze our ability to service and/or incur indebtedness, as we have been a highly leveraged company. Thus, the use of Adjusted EBITDA as a key performance measure facilitated operating performance comparisons from period to period and company to company, as it excluded potential differences caused by variations in capital structures (affecting interest expense), tax positions (such as the impact on periods or companies of changes in effective tax rates or net operating losses), the impact of purchase accounting and depreciation and amortization expense. Because Adjusted EBITDA facilitated internal comparisons of our historical operating performance on a more consistent basis, we have also used Adjusted EBITDA for business planning purposes, in measuring our performance relative to that of our competitors and in evaluating acquisition opportunities. In addition, we believe Adjusted EBITDA and similar measures are widely used by investors, securities analysts, ratings agencies and other interested parties as a measure of financial performance and debt-service capabilities.

        In light of the significant changes in our business over the past few years, including changes in our senior leadership (new CFO in 2008 and CEO in 2009) as well as the structural and operating changes in our businesses, we believe we are a more competitive company, with a lower fixed cost structure and more focused on productivity and other lean initiatives to drive future profitability and cash flows. We have generated significant cash from operations during the last two years, which has enabled us to reduce our debt levels. Given these changes, and the resulting improvement in earnings quality, management believes we are evolving from a highly leveraged company that, for comparative purposes, relied on Adjusted EBITDA as a key indicator of performance, to one that can rely and report on GAAP-based results. As the Company continues to grow its earnings base and decrease its debt levels, investors and analysts are placing TriMas in comparable company groupings that rely primarily on GAAP-based metrics for valuation and presentation purposes. Thus, while Adjusted EBITDA remains an important indicator of performance, beginning in 2011, we intend to rely primarily on the GAAP-based metrics of operating profit and cash flow from operations as they relate to our key metrics of earnings and liquidity, respectively.

        Our use of Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

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it does not reflect our cash expenditures for capital equipment or other contractual commitments;

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although depreciation, amortization and asset impairment charges and write-offs are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated, amortized or written off may have to be replaced in the future, and Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash capital expenditure requirements for such replacements;



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it does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;



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it does not reflect the significant interest expense or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments on our indebtedness;



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it does not reflect certain tax payments that may represent a reduction in cash available to us;



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it includes amounts resulting from matters we consider not to be indicative of underlying performance of our fundamental business operations; and



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other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate these measures differently and as the number of differences in the way two different companies calculate these measures increases, the degree of their usefulness as a comparative measure correspondingly decreases.

        Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as a measure of discretionary cash available to us to invest in our growth. We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using Adjusted EBITDA only supplementally. We carefully review our operating profit margins (operating profit as a percentage of net sales) at a reportable segment level, which are discussed in detail in our year-to-year comparison of operating results.

        The following is a reconciliation of our net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA and cash flows provided by operating activities for the three years ended December 31:

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