Japanese company completes purchase of local aerospace supplier
An aerospace supplier with sites in Sumner and Auburn has been acquired by a Japan-based plastics manufacturer.
Sekisui Chemical announced on Thursday it has completed its $510 million cash acquisition of AIM Aerospace, based in Renton, from Liberty Hall Capital Partners, a private equity firm.
AIM Aerospace is a wholly owned operating company within Sekisui Chemical.
In a statement released Thursday, Daniele Cagnatel, CEO of AIM Aerospace said: “We are very pleased to be a key member of Sekisui Chemical’s business. As the foundational aerospace company in their portfolio, we will bring our technical, product and market expertise combined with Sekisui Chemical’s advanced materials and processes to create synergies and achieve strategic growth.”
AIM produces thermoset and thermoplastic aerostructures, engine parts and assemblies, interior structures and systems, for jets in the commercial, military and business sectors.
The two companies first announced plans for the acquisition in June.
Sekisui has 26,000 employees working in more than 200 companies in 21 countries.
Sekisui’s core business is plastics, but it is also involved worldwide with an extremely diverse portfolio that includes housing, medical (diagnostics as well as pharmaceuticals and drug development), urban infrastructure and environmental products, batteries, solar cells, biorefinery (turning garbage into ethanol), and more.
The aerospace company started in 1988 as part of the UK-based AIM Group. AIM Aerospace has more than 1,000 employees with a customer list that includes The Boeing Co., GE, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Spirit AeroSystems. AIM Aerospace was acquired by Liberty Hall in 2016 and in the next year, Liberty Hall acquired and merged AIM Aerospace with Quatro Composites, supplier of advanced aerospace composite structures, components and assemblies.
Last year, AIM moved work from Auburn to Sumner, bringing an additional 600 jobs to its expanded Sumner site, and the company was named as one of the Excellent 10 projects by the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County earlier this year at its annual meeting.
The company also has a site in Orange City, Iowa.
Also in 2018, the company via the EDB was the beneficiary of a $125,000 grant from the state Department of Commerce to support the expansion and job creation at its sites in Sumner and Renton.
Cagnatel, in Thursday’s statement, added: “The integration with Sekisui Chemical also provides access to resources and expertise to enhance continuous improvement, operational excellence and to refine and develop product offerings for our current and new customers.”
This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 6:20 AM.
