SUGAR GROVE – Local avionics contractor CMC Electronics has a new corporate parent.
And the company has not broken stride since it was bought earlier this year.
“This is, for us, a very good situation,” said Mark Phillips, CMC deputy vice-president for military aviation. “From the standpoint of an acquisition, this was ideal.”
In March, aerospace-defense and medical equipment manufacturer Esterline Corp. completed its purchase of CMC Electronics for $335 million.
CMC operates three factories, including two in Canada and a 45,000-square-foot facility in Sugar Grove. Overall, CMC Electronics employs 1,200, including 93 workers at the Sugar Grove plant.
The Sugar Grove facility operated under the name Flight Visions before it was bought by ONCAP, an investment fund established by Onex Corporation of Canada in 2002.
Phillips said employees in Sugar Grove suspected that CMC would change hands.
“The question for us was who would buy us,” Phillips said.
The purchase by Esterline promises new opportunities for both companies, said Wayne Plucker, a senior aerospace industry analyst with market research firm Frost & Sullivan.
“This could mean a great deal for both companies, in that it makes them much more competitive,” Plucker said.
Phillips said CMC would retain its name and brand identity. Staffing levels remained unchanged after the deal. And CMC continues to focus its attention on development of products that have brought it success, he said.
Military supplier
In the military aerospace market, CMC is known for its head-up displays, mission computing and flight management systems and integrated cockpit systems for military trainer aircraft.
The head-up displays, produced in Sugar Grove, allow pilots to view navigation and weapons information without looking down in the cockpit. Those systems have been integrated into the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the F-14B Tomcat.
The company since 2000 has secured $8.28 million in contracts from the Navy and the Air Force, the Web site FederalSpending.org said.
The company’s products also have been bought for use by other defense contractors.
However, CMC Electronics also has earned large business in commercial avionics, namely in the production of satellite communication antennas, flight management systems and so-called electronic flight bags, portable computers that allow pilots to more efficiently carry and access flight information.
CMC supplies systems to more than 150 airlines and many of the world’s leading manufacturers of aircraft, including Boeing, Airbus, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Pilatus.
CMC has plans to begin manufacturing a version of the electronic flight bags modified for military use later this year.
http://www.kcchronicle.com/articles/2007/06/19/business/local/doc4677192ae131f704046699.txt
