The acquired company is a leading supplier of precision machined parts to the aerospace industry. With 600 employees and 33,500 m2 of manufacturing and distribution facilities, the company designs, manufactures, assembles and delivers components to leading aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus, Boeing and Gulfstream.
Says Nick Sanders, executive chairman, Gardner Aerospace: “The coming together of these two companies creates a business with revenues in excess of US$300m and moves us nicely along our path to becoming a global top-five aerospace detailed parts manufacturing company by 2022. The existing Northern Aerospace management team remains and will add considerable value as we look to grow even further into new geographical territories and product sectors.
“Since our acquisition in 2017 by Chinese firm SLMR, we have implemented a strategy of organic and acquisitive growth. The acquisition of Northern Aerospace, following approval by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the CMA, brings a substantial “very large” machining capability to the Gardner product portfolio, providing us with a perfect opportunity to extend and complement the offerings of both businesses worldwide.”
The expanded organisation will allow Gardner, an Airbus-declared long-term detailed parts supplier, to offer its customers a much broader product and service offering, permitting the company to further aggregate commodities and increase its capacity in making parts of various complexity and size in best cost locations and close to an increasing number of points of use.
Gardner is building a new 45,000 m2 manufacturing facility in Chengdu, China. This will replicate the company’s European offering to the domestic Chinese aerospace market, ensuring high quality products for OEMs and Tier 1 design and build companies located in China and Asia-Pacific.
