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PCC Expands Aerospace Portfolio

May 22, 2012
Acquires material testing, heat-treating companies absolutely essential service providers

Precision Castparts Corp. — an investment caster, forger, and manufacturer of fasteners and other critical metal components — continues to acquire companies as it assembles an organization supplying aerospace and power-generation markets. Portland-based PCC said it would buy two California companies, Dickson Testing Co. and Aerocraft Heat Treating Co., in cash transactions.

No prices were reported for the acquisitions. PCC noted that destructive testing and certification as well as pre-machine heat-treating are essential processing steps in aerospace manufacturing, and thus add to the organization’s value proposition. Earlier this month PCC bought an Ontario precision machining operation, Centra Industries, that likewise is focused on the aerospace supply chain.

Dickson has 110 employees in South Gate, CA, and performs a range of destructive testing services that include mechanical properties; metallurgical and chemical analyses; and low-cycle fatigue testing.

Aerocraft, in Paramount, CA, offers precision heat-treating for titanium- and nickel-alloy forgings and castings used in aerospace manufacturing. It also provides straightening, de-twisting, forming, and other related services. It has about 60 employees.

"These two businesses, Dickson and Aerocraft, are absolutely essential service providers to the aerospace industry, including many of our manufacturing operations," stated PCC chairman and CEO Mark Donegan. "Acquiring these assets enables us to integrate and expand their capabilities, both within our own facilities and with their many valued aerospace customers worldwide. These services are also employed by metal component manufacturers in other industries.”

Donegan indicated that PCC intends to expand the business of both companies.

About the Author

Robert Brooks | Content Director

Robert Brooks has been a business-to-business reporter, writer, editor, and columnist for more than 20 years, specializing in the primary metal and basic manufacturing industries. His work has covered a wide range of topics, including process technology, resource development, material selection, product design, workforce development, and industrial market strategies, among others. Currently, he specializes in subjects related to metal component and product design, development, and manufacturing — including castings, forgings, machined parts, and fabrications.