ENGINEERING company MB Aerospace has expanded its US operations with a multi-million dollar deal to buy an engine component manufacturer.
The Motherwell company did not reveal how much it paid for Delta Industries, but said the Connecticut business had revenues of more than $60 million (£39.5m) in 2012.
MB, formed following the management buy-out of businesses from Motherwell Bridge in 2007, confirmed the deal means it is on course to reach £100m in annual revenue in 2013, up from £50m last year.
It is the company's second major US deal following on from its December 2011 purchase of Gentz Industries in Detroit, Michigan.
Chief executive Craig Gallagher led a secondary management buy-out of the business in March this year which was backed by private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners.
Washington DC-based Arlington is providing further support for the Delta deal.
Mr Gallagher said: "With its wide range of capabilities, long-standing customer relationships and its strong management team, the Delta business has been a long-term target for MB Aerospace. It is a perfect fit with our ambitions for future growth.
"We believe the combined group is positioned to take advantage of the available opportunities for further expansion in the months and years ahead."
Delta is said to have a strong order book of commercial and US defence industry contracts.
Bill Evans, president of Delta Industries, said: "We are delighted to join MB Aerospace. In them we see a business which is actively looking to grow in the aero-engine components market where it has key supply-chain presence coupled with a strong range of customer relationships."
The deal adds to MB's current product range with Mr Gallagher highlighting additional technical capabilities in relation to large- diameter fabrications and the robot welding of components for aero-engines.
He said: "Delta has an industry-leading reputation for its ability to manufacture challenging system-critical components. Historically, a typical aero-engine would have more than 400 unique suppliers; on the next generation of aero-engines this will be reduced to around 100, with tier-one suppliers required to operate across a range of capabilities to serve their customers."
The acquisition of Delta means the enlarged MB supplies into more than 45 aero-engine platforms across the commercial, defence and industrial sectors.
Its products include casings, rotating rings, structural assemblies and diffusers with customers such as Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, General Electric, Boeing, United Technologies, GKN and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Staff numbers are expected to reach 550 this year, up from 370 in 2012, with around 400 of those based in the US and 115 in Motherwell with the rest based in Derby and Burnley.
Mr Gallagher said: "We see exciting opportunities in the years ahead, as the global airline sector is expected to grow significantly over the next two decades, doubling from its current 20,000 aircraft by the early 2030s.
"This growth is being fuelled by the rising demand for travel in Asia coupled with the need of European and American airlines to replace ageing aircraft, dramatically increasing the demand for the wide range of world-class manufacturing and aftermarket services we already provide to some of the world's biggest aviation players.
"The global installed base of gas-turbine aero-engine derivatives is nearly 225,000 units across various aerospace, defence and industrial applications and the majority of this fleet is expected to be growing and in service for several decades to come."
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