aerospace parts

Tribus Aerospace, a portfolio company of Shorehill Capital, has acquired Precision Aerospace Corporation and its sister company Precision Micro Mill.

Shorehill Capital formed Tribus Aerospace in June 2017 to acquire Advanced Machining & Tooling (AMT), a manufacturer of complex, precision machined parts and assemblies used in the aerospace, military, space, industrial, medical, electronics, and laser industries. AMT’s machining capabilities include precision CNC machining, electrical discharge machining (EDM), and waterjet cutting. The company is headquartered near San Diego in Poway, CA (www.tribusaerospace.com) (www.amtmfg.com).

Precision Aerospace (PAC), based in Grand Rapids, MI, is a manufacturer of complex parts and assemblies for a range of commercial aerospace and defense applications.  Products include hydraulic manifolds, port caps, mounting flanges, housings, rotor parts and assemblies used in hydraulic pumps, fuel systems, and transmissions. Precision Micro Mill (PMM), located 10 miles south of Grand Rapids in Wayland, MI, is a captive contract manufacturer to PAC specializing in small volume, short lead time parts (www.precision-aerospace.com).

Precision Aerospace was founded as Precision Template Co. in 1956 by Marinus VanderKodde and Burt Ericson – both were past employees of Lear Siegler, a maker of a range of products from car seats and brakes to weapons control gear for military fighter planes. Precision Template focused on the aerospace industry right away and served local avionics manufacturers like Lear Siegler. Roger Driesenga purchased the company in 1968 and changed the name to Precision Sheetmetal & Machine and began manufacturing machined parts. William (Bill) Hoyer began working at Precision Sheetmetal in 1988 as a Product Engineer and in 1990 he purchased a majority ownership stake in the company. In 1998 the company changed its name to Precision Aerospace Corporation.

Mr. Hoyer, President and sole owner of both PAC and PMM, will continue as President of both companies and will become a shareholder in Tribus Aerospace. “Bill has built an impressive business at PAC, with significant growth potential across a range of attractive commercial and military platforms.  We are excited to partner with Bill and his teams at PAC and PMM,” said Doug Knoch, a Managing Director at Shorehill Capital.

Shorehill Capital makes control investments in North American-based middle market companies that have from $3 million to $15 million in EBITDA and enterprise values of $25 million to $150 million. Sectors of interest include engineered industrial products, industrial services, and value-added distribution. The firm was founded in 2013 by its managing partners Brian Simmons and Dave Hawkins, both former senior executives of CHS Capital.  Shorehill is based in Chicago (www.shorehillcapital.com).

“The acquisitions of PAC and PMM fit precisely with our strategy to build Tribus Aerospace into a leading supplier of critical aircraft turbine engine, motion control and flow control components and assemblies,” said Scott Shedd, Co-Chairman of Tribus Aerospace. Tribus Aerospace is actively seeking to acquire additional aerospace and defense-focused precision machining companies.

Comerica Bank provided financing to Tribus Aerospace to fund this transaction.

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | March 2, 2018

Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing (CAM), a portfolio company of Tinicum, has acquired Moeller Manufacturing & Supply.

Moeller is a maker of metallic and non-metallic washers and spacers that are used in commercial aerospace and defense applications. The company has more than 16,000 SKU’s and sells its products to customers throughout the US, Australia, Israel, Germany, and France. Moeller was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Anaheim, CA (www.moellermfg.com).

“As a private company with our name on the building, we didn’t just want a transaction – we wanted a proper home for our business of 40 years,” said Marsha Moeller, owner of Moeller Manufacturing & Supply. “CAM is a true fit for the next phase of Moeller.”

Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing (CAM) is a group of manufacturers that supply components principally to the aerospace industry. The company is headquartered near Los Angeles in Brea, CA (www.conaeromfg.com).

CAM was formed in December 2012 in partnership with co-CEOs Jordan Law and David Werner and includes Bristol Industries, a Brea, CA-based maker of self-locking nuts and gang channels used by airframe and engine manufacturers; Aerofit, a Fullerton, CA-based maker of high- and low-pressure fluid fittings and systems for the aerospace, marine, nuclear, and oil and gas industries; Voss Industries, a Cleveland, OH-based manufacturer of couplings, flanges, and clamps for aerospace and industrial applications; 3V Fasteners, a Corona, CA-based maker of fasteners for aircraft and aerospace applications; and QRP, a Leland, NC-based manufacturer of quick release pins, and latches used in the commercial aerospace and military markets.

“We are very pleased to add Moeller to the CAM family,” said Gabriel Yuen, a Partner at Tinicum. “The addition of Moeller helps CAM continue to strengthen its position as a leading aerospace components manufacturer in the global aerospace industry.”

Tinicum is a family office founded to manage the holdings of the Ruttenberg family and began managing outside capital in 1998. The firm makes control equity investments of $30 million to $150 million in public and privately held companies in a wide range of industries. Tinicum is currently investing out of Tinicum LP, a $1.6 billion fund which closed in 2012. Tinicum has offices in New York and San Francisco (www.tinicum.com).

Investment bank D.A. Davidson & Co. (www.dadavidson.com) was the financial advisor to Moeller on this transaction. “We are delighted to have advised Moeller on this transaction,” said Paul Weisbrich, a Managing Director at D.A. Davidson. “As aerospace & defense industry specialists, we were able to secure the very best acquirer in the marketplace today for a private, closely-held, Class C parts manufacturer.” The aerospace and defense c-class parts market includes low cost and high volume commodity parts such as fasteners and bearings.

Tinicum and CAM continue to seek additional opportunities to acquire manufacturers of aerospace parts and components.

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | March 1, 2018

Domaille Engineering, a platform company of Thompson Street Capital Partners (TSCP) and Onward Capital, has acquired Tech Manufacturing. TSCP and Onward Capital acquired Domaille Engineering in November 2016.

Tech Manufacturing specializes in CNC precision machining of complex 5-axis structural aerospace parts made of aluminum, steel, titanium, or other materials. The company’s products are used in the airframes of commercial, military and business aircraft and its customers include aerospace OEM manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers. Tech Manufacturing has over 70 employees and is based west of St. Louis in Wright City, MO (www.techmanufacturing.com).

Domaille Engineering operates through two divisions. The company’s optical products division designs and manufactures polishing machines and fixtures, inspection equipment and other products that are used in fiber-optic cable applications. The precision services division engineers and manufactures complex, mission-critical products for the defense, aerospace, national security, telecommunications, energy and medical sectors. Domaille is led by CEO Tim Kanne and is headquartered in Rochester, MN (www.domailleengineering.com).

“We have been very impressed with Tech Manufacturing, not just with their unique capabilities and skillsets, but with their management and staff,” said Jim Cooper, Managing Partner of TSCP. “The company’s reputation for excellence from a product and service standpoint is known industry-wide. This represents a strong addition to the Domaille family with opportunistic growth, and TSCP is proud to welcome them.”

Thompson Street Capital Partners makes investments in companies with annual revenues between $20 million and $200 million and EBITDA between $4 million and $15 million. Since its founding in 2000, Thompson Street has acquired more than 100 companies in the business services, healthcare services and engineered products sectors. The firm held a final close of Thompson Street Capital Partners IV LP with $640 million of capital commitments in December 2015. Thompson Street is based in St. Louis (www.tscp.com).

“Onward Capital is extremely pleased to add Tech Manufacturing to the Domaille brand. With this partnership, we will continue to seek complementary acquisition opportunities for the combined platform,” said Marcus George, a Partner at Onward Capital.

Onward Capital invests in manufacturing and value-added distribution companies with revenues between $15 million and $100 million and EBITDA between $3 million and $10 million. The firm was founded in March 2015 by Marcus George and Laura Lester and is headquartered in Chicago (www.onwardcapllc.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | February 9, 2018

Consolidated Machine & Tool, a platform company of White Wolf Capital, has acquired Astro-Tek Industries, a manufacturer of aerospace parts and equipment.

Astro-Tek builds specialized equipment used by Tier 1 aerospace and defense companies to manufacture, maintain, and service aircraft, satellites, rockets, and missiles.  Astro-Tek specializes in the manufacture of complicated products made of hard and soft metals that require in-house designing, laser cutting, machining, assembly, and testing.  The company has 78 employees and operates from a 52,000 square foot manufacturing and headquarters facility in Anaheim, CA (www.astro-tek.io).

Consolidated Machine & Tool was formed by White Wolf in March 2017 as a special purpose entity to acquire US manufacturing businesses with revenues of $5 million to $25 million specializing in precision machining, fabrication, assembly, and design of highly engineered components for the aerospace and defense industries.

“We are excited to partner with the team at Astro-Tek. The transaction will provide access to additional capital and resources to support further growth,” said Elie Azar, Managing Director of White Wolf.

White Wolf makes investments in companies with $10 million to $100 million in revenues and up to $10 million in EBITDA.  Industries of specific interest include manufacturing, business services, information technology, security, aerospace and defense. The firm was founded in 2011 and is based in New York (www.whitewolfcapital.com).

Xnergy (www.xnergyib.com), an aerospace, manufacturing, and industrials focused investment bank with offices in Los Angeles and San Diego, was the financial advisor to Astro-Tek. “It has been a pleasure to work with such a promising aerospace industrials company and through our relationships, successfully connect such a strong strategic capital partner as White Wolf,” said Bill Timmerman, Managing Director of Xnergy.

The buy of Astro-Tek by Consolidated Machine & Tool closed on June 30, 2017.

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | August 24, 2017