Arcline Forms Signia Aerospace, Buys Mezzo Technologies
July 26, 2022|John McNulty
Arcline Investment Management has formed Signia Aerospace and has acquired International Mezzo Technologies.
Signia Aerospace was formed by Arcline to consolidate its investments in Onboard Systems International, a Washington-based provider of cargo handling equipment for civil and military helicopters (acquired from Liberty Hall Capital Partners in October 2021); Air Comm Corporation, a Colorado-based manufacturer of environmental control systems and thermal management systems used in the aerospace and defense industry (July 2021); and Enviro Systems, an Oklahoma-based maker of environmental control systems used in aviation applications (acquired from Safran S.A. in November 2021).
Today, the operations of Signia are organized into two business units: Thermal Management and Mission Equipment. The Thermal Management unit designs, manufactures and services environmental control systems and microtube heat exchangers. Key brands include ACE Thermal Systems – established through the combination of Air Comm and Enviro Systems – and now, with the close of this transaction – Mezzo Technologies. The Mission Equipment unit has more than 5,000 SKUs of cargo hooks, human external cargo (HEC) systems, weighing systems and remote equipment products sold under the Onboard Systems brand.
Baton Rouge-headquartered Mezzo Technologies is a designer and manufacturer of microtube heat exchangers used in thermal management applications in the defense, aerospace, commercial, space and racing end markets.
Mezzo designs and manufactures custom high-performance microtube heat exchangers used in the defense, aerospace, commercial, space and racing end markets. Source: Mezzo Technologies
“At Mezzo, our purpose is to provide our customers with leading-edge microtube heat exchanger solutions that serve the most critical thermal management applications,” said Kevin Kelly, the president of Mezzo. “The partnership with Signia will broaden our reach and enable us to better support our customers.”
As part of the formation of Signia, Norman Jordan, an aerospace industry veteran with 30 years of experience, has been named the chief executive officer of the company. Most recently, he was the CEO of Safran Cabin, a California-based maker of cabins for regional aircraft and business jets. Earlier, he was the CEO of California-based Zodiac Aerospace.
“The Signia brands are leaders in their respective markets and together provide a compelling value proposition to aerospace and defense OEMs and end-users as a foremost provider of high-quality electromechanical systems and specialty components,” said Mr. Jordan. “We are excited to continue expanding our portfolio of products and service capabilities to better serve our customers.”
Arcline makes control investments in companies that have from $10 million to $100 million of EBITDA and enterprise values of up to $1 billion. Sectors of interest include defense and aerospace; infrastructure services; industrial and medical technology; life sciences and specialty materials. Arcline was founded in September 2018 and has offices in San Francisco and New York.
Arcline Investment Management has formed Signia Aerospace and has acquired International Mezzo Technologies.
Baton Rouge-headquartered 
“The Signia brands are leaders in their respective markets and together provide a compelling value proposition to aerospace and defense OEMs and end-users as a foremost provider of high-quality electromechanical systems and specialty components,” said Mr. Jordan. “We are excited to continue expanding our portfolio of products and service capabilities to better serve our customers.”
