The Sterling Group, a middle market private equity firm based in Houston, announced that its affiliated investment fund, Sterling Group Partners III LP, has completed the acquisition of ROM Corp. and Specialty Manufacturing Inc. (SMI), combining the businesses through its holding company, Safe Fleet Acquisition Corp.

The investment is Sterling’s fifth investment in its third fund, an $820 million fund raised in 2010. The companies were formerly owned but independently operated and financed by Century Park Capital Partners.

Headquartered in Belton, Miss., the newly combined company provides safety-and productivity-oriented components to the emergency vehicle, truck and trailer, utility vehicle, school bus and transit bus end markets. Together, ROM and SMI maintain a leading market position across the majority of its niche product lines. The company’s value-added products focus on enhancing worker safety and productivity and are characterized by their durability, reliability, and versatility in usage and application.

“We are pleased to partner with Sterling to bring these two companies together, deepen our product offerings, and expand our ability to serve our customers,” said Joe Uebbing, former CEO of SMI and newly appointed CEO of Safe Fleet.