TestAmerica Acquires Environmental Microbiology Laboratory

November 29, 2003 – TestAmerica Environmental Services, LLC, a portfolio company of H.I.G. Capital, announced the acquisition of Environmental Microbiology Laboratory (EMLab). Headquartered in San Bruno, California, EMLab is the premier mold and bacteria testing laboratory in the United States.

Commenting on the acquisition, Thomas R. Barr, CEO of TestAmerica stated, “EMLab is an ideal complement to our national environmental testing business. It will bring premier-class microbiological analytic capability to our clients. The acquisition means that TestAmerica customers have immediate access to a fuller range of services, including analyses of mold and bacterial samples for indoor air quality investigations. Further, EMLab clients now have immediate access to TestAmerica’s wide-ranging environmental testing services and geographic coverage.”

David Gallup, Chairman of EMLab, commented, “This partnership is the best way for EMLab to achieve its mission of providing the best analytical quality and personalized service in our industry. It will allow us to focus exclusively on our core business of high-quality mold and bacterial analysis for IAQ investigations while providing the national coverage and broader range of services that our clients require. Dave Bell and I, working with our existing staff, will continue managing EMLab according to our original mission. Although I believe that we are already the industry benchmark for quality and service, I will be working to insure that our capabilities and performance continue to improve.”

TestAmerica provides environmental services through its three divisions. The analytical testing division performs tests in scientific laboratories to detect trace level organic and inorganic contaminants in soil, water, sludge, and air samples that are shipped from industrial processing and other sites that are being investigated, monitored or remediated for the presence of harmful substances. The air emissions sampling division collects air samples from the emissions of industrial processes that are then processed and tested by the Company’s fully-equipped, on-site mobile laboratories to determine their compliance with applicable environmental regulations. The drilling division drills wells through complex geologies for the environmental testing, monitoring and remediation of industrial processing sites, government/military facilities, gas stations, and other sites that may potentially contain harmful substances in soil, water, or sludge.

EMLab specializes in the analysis of molds, yeasts, and bacteria, including Legionella. The company has over 30 years experience in mold testing and bio-aerosol analysis, and helped pioneer today’s indoor air quality (IAQ) industry. EMLab’s database and reference library are considered among the largest and most complete in the industry. The company has an industry-leading team of mycologists with experience gained from thousands of IAQ projects.

EMLab operates six laboratories in the US, four in California, one in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and one in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The company’s clients include industrial hygienists, laboratories, state and local public health departments, hospitals, and IAQ professionals.

The company recently announced that its San Diego laboratory has received accreditation by the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s (AIHA) EMLAP program. The AIHA accreditation applies to the analysis of mold and bacteria in EMLab’s San Diego laboratory and follows the accreditation of their Northern California laboratory making EMLab the only microbiology lab in North America
to hold two AIHA accreditations.

Further information about both companies can be obtained on the Internet,
www. testamericainc.com and emlab.com.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. Capital is a leading private equity and venture capital investment firm with more than $1.5 billion of equity capital under management. Based in Miami, Florida, 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 well-established, profitable, and well-managed manufacturing or service businesses, and in promising early-stage technology companies. Since its founding, H.I.G. has made more than fifty highly successful investments, acquiring companies with combined revenues in excess of $5 billion.