Curtiss-Wright Corp. [CW] this week said it has acquired Britain-based Douglas Equipment Ltd., a supplier of ground support vehicles to defense and commercial aviation markets, for $20 million in cash.
“The acquisition of Douglas provides a major opportunity to expand Curtiss-Wright’s capabilities and presence in our core naval defense market,” Martin Benante, chairman and CEO of Curtiss-Wright, said in a statement. “Douglas’ products are a strategic fit with the aircraft handling systems currently manufactured by our Flow Control segment, and offer customers an expanded range of platform systems. Additionally, Douglas offers growth potential in the United States Navy and foreign navies worldwide, as well as the opportunity to expand into the adjacent market of commercial aircraft handling systems.”
Douglas supplies towbarless and conventional aircraft tractors and runway friction measuring devices, selling to airlines and ground handling companies, in a slew of countries including the United States. For the military market, Douglas supplies battery-operated traversers for moving helicopters and fighter jets for both ship and land-based deployment. In the defense market, the company’s products are used in the United States, and international navies in Britain, Italy, Australia, South Korea, India, Japan and elsewhere.
Douglas had $28 million in sales last year and employs 135 people in Britain and at a sales and services office in Atlanta.