Aerial Machine & Tool, a portfolio company of Argosy Private Equity, has acquired Hazard Protection Systems, a provider of fire suppression kits used in military, industrial, and commercial vehicle applications.
Aerial Machine & Tool (Aerial) designs and manufactures survivability equipment for military and defense applications including emergency breathing systems used in aircraft emergencies, tactical vests engineered for personnel safety in hostile environments, flotation devices that enable survival in water landings, and helicopter rescue hooks.
Customers of Aerial include U.S. Department of Defense agencies, allied international militaries, and prime defense contractors. AMT, led by CEO Thomas Weidley, was founded in 1926 by Floyd Toms and is headquartered 80 miles northwest of Greensboro in Vesta, Virginia.
“We are excited to announce HazPro’s acquisition by Aerial, which represents a natural extension of the long standing relationship between the two companies,” said Mr. Weidley. “Aerial has been providing sewing and pouching services for HazPro products for many years, and this acquisition strengthens that partnership while expanding Aerial’s capabilities in mission critical markets.”
Hazard Protection Systems (HazPro) is a manufacturer of passive fire suppression systems that are used in military, commercial, and industrial vehicles. The company’s fabric-based fuel tank fire suppression (FTFS) kits are designed to detect and automatically extinguish fires, particularly in vehicles or equipment where fire risks are high. These kits release extinguishing agents—like dry chemicals or clean gases—automatically when exposed to heat, using sewn-in fabric modules that smother fuel fires without mechanical components.
Key products of the company include FTFS kits for tactical trucks, specialized extinguishing modules developed in-house, and ITAR-compliant systems approved for international export. ITAR, or International Traffic in Arms Regulations, governs the export of U.S. defense-related products and ensures they are shared only with authorized foreign parties.
HazPro has also provided FTFS kits that are used in auto racing, construction vehicles, and diplomatic vehicle undercarriage tanks. HazPro has sold over 23,000 fire suppression kits to the United States Army, Marine Corps, NATO Allies, and various tactical truck OEMs. HazPro was founded in 2011 by Paul McDowell and is headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama.
“This acquisition not only enhances Aerial’s intellectual property portfolio with HazPro’s proprietary fire suppression systems, but it also creates immediate post close synergies, which we believe position the business for future growth and increased value proposition to Aerial’s customers,” said Jack Nugent, a partner at Argosy.
Argosy makes control investments of $5 million to $25 million in niche manufacturing and business-to-business service companies with $20 million to $100 million of revenue and $3 million to $10 million of EBITDA. In July 2022, Argosy held a final and above-target closing of Argosy Investment Partners VI LP with $422 million in capital and is seeking both new platforms and add-on acquisitions to its existing portfolio companies.
Headquartered near Philadelphia in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Argosy was founded in 1990 and is a division of Argosy Capital, an investment adviser with $3.1 billion of assets under management. Other investment units of Argosy include Argosy Real Estate Partners, Argosy Credit Partners, Argosy Strategic Partners, and Argosy Healthcare Partners. All of Argosy’s funds focus on lower middle-market investment strategies.
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