The purchase of privately owned engine component manufacturer Dynamic Gunver Technologies (DGT) for $102 million in cash will allow Smiths Aerospace to expand its engine components business and rise up the supply chain, says Smiths Aerospace Engine Components vice-president of business development Alan Fenwick.
Fenwick says the takeover fills a gap in Smiths' capabilities in the North American engine market. "DGT does complex parts - it specialises more in thin metal components than does Smiths, which is more focused on axially symmetric parts," he says, adding:"It will allow us to move up from components to modules - we will provide the whole aft end of the engine."
DGT, which uses specialist machining and laser welding to manufacture aeroengine components, will add $110 million in turnover to the engine components business, already worth $400 million a year or 25%of Smiths Aerospace's total turnover.
The business will be combined with Smiths' existing North American engine components fabrication operations, under president Jim Donahue. Smiths supplies components for various military and civil engine programmes in the USA, including the Pratt &Whitney F100 for the Boeing F-15 and the General Electric F110 for the Lockheed Martin F-16.
Source: Flight International
