Centrax Industries Ltd has agreed on terms and completed the sale of its component manufacturing business, Centrax Turbine Components Ltd. The purchaser is MB Aerospace.
Centrax Turbine Components, the long-standing family business which manufactures turbine engine components for the aero-engine and industrial gas turbine market, has been sold to the international aerospace engineering group, MB Aerospace.
MB Aerospace is a leading tier 1 supplier of precision aero-engine components directly serving major aero-engine OEMs and leading tier 1 suppliers and has more than 1,450 staff. The group has operations in North America, Poland, the UK and serves all major aero-engine OEMs: Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, and General Electric. Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms, recently acquired a majority stake in MB Aerospace and is supportive of the management plan to build an aero-engine components business of scale to support growth and consolidation in the industry over the next 20 years.
Centrax felt that due to consolidation in the industry it is time for the Turbine Components business to be part of a larger group. Customers want fewer suppliers who are increasing in scale and capability (The last generation of aero-engines had 400 direct suppliers. The current generation has less than 90 direct suppliers). MB Aerospace was very carefully selected by the Centrax Group and the management team as an ideal acquirer as they position the business with a clear strategy of growth through investment.
The transferred business will be rebranded MB Aerospace Newton Abbot, with immediate effect.
The remaining Centrax Group business, Centrax Ltd (Centrax Gas Turbines), will remain under Centrax ownership and will be unaffected by the sale of Centrax Turbine Components. MB Aerospace will continue to supply components to Centrax Ltd for the KB7 boost module, and the existing team remains unchanged.
The Centrax Group has no plans to sell Centrax Ltd. Unlike Turbine Components which will benefit from being part of a larger group, the Group believes Centrax Ltd is an optimum size for the market in which it operates; large enough to have sufficient resources and scale to provide an excellent service, whilst remaining small enough to be responsive to customer needs.