North East firm Ford Aerospace has been acquired by a US group which has pledged new jobs and investment at the South Tyneside manufacturer.
The South Shields business has been snapped up by SPIROL, a family-owned manufacturing group headquartered in Connecticut, following 30 years of collaboration between the two companies. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.
Ford Aerospace was founded at Tyne Dock in 1910 by Robert Ford, and the family business has most recently been led by the founder’s great-grandson, Chris Ford. The company, which has 76 staff, specialises in manufacturing high precision metal components and sub-assemblies for the aerospace, industrial, and high-technology sectors.
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Mr Ford will step down as managing director as part of the deal, but will remain as a consultant for the immediate future. SPIROL is a successful family-owned company with a history also closely tied to aviation development.
Founded in 1948 by Herman Koehl, the grandfather of the current chief executive officer Jeff Koehl, the firm has grown from a single manufacturing facility in the US to a global enterprise with manufacturing or distribution locations on four continents and 12 countries across North America, South America, Europe and Asia. The company said its well-established global footprint will open doors to a much wider international market for Ford Aerospace’s products.
Mr Ford said: “Ford Aerospace is, and always has been, here for the people, especially our dedicated and skilled team, and it was important that any new Ford Aerospace owner share the values that have been at the heart of the company for over 100 years.
“Our two companies have a long history of working together, dating back to 1980 where SPIROL licensed a specialized manufacturing process from Ford Aerospace, which is still in use today. SPIROL respects Ford’s strong position in the UK market and our product manufacturing knowledge. SPIROL and Ford’s approach to our employees and our customers align wonderfully, and I am excited to see our strong business carry on as part of the successful SPIROL group.”
Ken Hagan, a division president at SPIROL said, “SPIROL is an engineering, manufacturing and sales driven company, and as such we seek to grow and expand in our product space. Where appropriate, this includes acquiring and holding exceptional companies which fit well with our overall business, global strategy and culture of excellence. We are excited to have Ford Aerospace join SPIROL and to be able to offer a more complete solution to our customers in Europe and beyond.
“We anticipate running Ford as a standalone business unit within the SPIROL group of companies. By combining the capabilities of both companies, our objective is to enhance our value-added offering to our customers both in technical expertise and products. We are now in the process of recruiting a new managing director to join the senior leadership team here in South Shields.”
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