B/E Aerospace Acquires Trio of Aircraft Component Suppliers

B/E Aerospace Inc., a Wilmington, Fla.-based designer of airplane interiors, has acquired three Southern California aerospace industry suppliers that make aircraft components.

The companies, T.L. Windust Machine Inc. of Fontana; Alson Industries Inc. of Compton; and DMGI Inc. of Long Beach, supply precision-machined components such as floor and sidewall beams, wing and fuselage skins, and gears used in aircraft engines.

The combined purchase price for all three companies, including debt retired or assumed and transaction-related expenses, totaled about $65 million, B/E Aerospace said. Additional information about the acquisitions, including the future of current employees and managers, was not immediately known.

B/E Aerospace spokesman Max Kuniansky said the acquired companies will help B/E Aerospace better convert passenger aircraft to freighter use, a growing segment of its business. Industry experts report that air-cargo traffic will grow 6% to 7% annually over the next 20 years, Kuniansky said.

Officials at the three companies declined to comment.

Each of the companies has had a good record with aerospace companies. T.L. Windust Machine received a gold supplier rating from Boeing Co. and Alson Industries received a silver rating. Of about 20,000 Boeing suppliers, fewer than 1% have received these designations.