PE Group Collecting Aerospace Forgings Businesses

Arlington Capital Partners, a Washington, DC-based private-equity group, is assembling a portfolio of aerospace forging operations, with operations in the U.S. and U.K.

In November, Arlington purchased Doncasters Group Ltd.'s Aerospace Forming and Fabricating business in Sheffield and Shrewsbury, England, renaming it Radius Aerospace UK Ltd.

Those businesses also will operate under legacy brands names "Bramah" and "Shrewsbury". Radius Aerospace UK is being led by the management team installed by Doncasters.

Radius Aerospace is a company that Arlington formed in April when it acquired the Triumph Aerospace metal forming, fabricating, and metal bonding business headquartered in Hot Springs, AR.

Also in November, Arlington purchased Doncasters' Blaenavon forging business in South Wales, which the buyer renamed Forged Solutions Group. FSG produces precision forged rings and closed-die forgings, primarily for OEM and Tier 1 aerospace and defense engine manufacturers.

In December, Arlington announced it had acquired the Firth Rixson Forgings Ltd. assets from Arconic — the aluminum and titanium conglomerate that's due to split in 2020, leaving its forging and casting operations as the new Howmet Aerospace business.

In September, Arconic agreed to sell 16 U.K. operations from its Arconic Engines business unit, including forging plants at Darley Dale, Meadowhall, River Don, and Provincial Park.

The Firth Rixson assets will be part of the Forged Solutions Group. These operations produce closed-die forgings and forged discs, forward-and-backward extruded shafts, and cylinders, primarily for aerospace and defense engine manufacturers. “The company is a perfect complement to our recent acquisition of Doncasters Group’s Blaenavon Forging business," according to Peter Manos, a managing partner at Arlington Capital.

No values have been reported for the Arlington Capital acquisitions.