Since 1986 Harry Weisberger has been a contributor to Aviation International News and a regular member of its HAI and NBAA convention news editorial staff. He was previously a marketing communications specialist for Sperry Flight Systems in Phoenix, providing information involving the general aviation, airline, defense and space market segments. His aviation journalism activity has also included writing and editing for Flight Training, Business Aviation Safety Journal, Private Pilot and Arizona Flyways (for whom he interviewed Barry Goldwater and Paul Tibbets. He has also contributed to Smithsonian Air &amp; Space and Aero magazines. He served 5-1/2 years on active duty with the U.S. Navy as a radar intercept officer in F4 Phantom jet fighters, followed by Naval Air Reserve duty as a patrol plane navigator. Weisberger’s journalism career began at the Santa Ana Register (now Orange County Register) where he was a beat reporter and copy desk editor. He holds a commercial pilot license with instrument rating, has logged 1,980 pilot hours and has owned or been a partner in five general aviation aircraft.

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Harry Weisberger

Kaman Aerospace Group has entered into an agreement to acquire Timken Alcor Aerospace Technologies (TAAT) of Mesa, Ariz. The former Timken Aerospace Aftermarket operation will continue under the same management with the same employee base, said Robert Paterson, head of Kaman’s Specialty Bearings &amp; Engineered Products division, under which the former Timken operation will be managed as part of Kaman Aerospace Group. The transaction was expected to be completed by the end of last month.

 


TAAT designs and supplies FAA-approved aftermarket parts made under the Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) process, primarily turbine engines and helicopter drive components to support MRO companies.

 


“This is a solid company that nicely complements the aftermarket business of our Specialty Bearings &amp; Engineered Products division,” said Greg Steiner, president of Kaman Aerospace Group. “TAAT has demonstrated consistent financial performance and offers engineered products that are adjacent and complementary to Kaman’s current offerings.”

 


Kaman (Booth N11646) listed factors in its decision to acquire TAAT from Timken, including organic growth opportunities, the robust TAAT quality system, engineering expertise and strong relationships with engine MROs and fleet operators of both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. Kaman expects TAAT to achieve further growth through Kaman’s global sales channels.

 


Paterson commented, “TAAT will be a great fit with our current engineered parts business and has the potential for significant product and market synergies. Global expansion of the product line will be a key focus of our growth strategy for TAAT.” TAAT has annual sales of approximately $20 million. Last year, Timken Aerospace Aftermarket divested its turbine engine overhaul business, including state-of-the-art engine test equipment.

 


TAAT general manager Larry Sheimbob said his turbine engine and helicopter powertrain PMA component operation appears to be a better fit with Kaman than in a Timken business plan less oriented toward aerospace. “Kaman is definitely an aerospace company,” he explained, noting that it offers wider market opportunities. “Everybody here is very excited.”

 


The Timken NBAA booth (C12038) will feature the Canton, Ohio-based company’s bearing repair operation in Los Alamitos, Calif. while the former TAAT holds forth at the Kaman stand.

 


Paterson noted that Kaman has been an aerospace company since 1945 and that its Aerospace Group is a $700 million component of an $8 billion corporation. What was until this month TAAT is now at the Kaman booth as ExTex Engineered Products, which is a nod to the name of the company (Extex) that Timken acquired in 2008.

 


“ExTex is a well-respected name in the industry,” Paterson explained. It is an Aerospace Group division, along with the Specialty Bearings &amp; Engineered Products division and Kamatics, a provider of mechanical components, helicopter drive shaft components and self-lubricating bearings. The group also includes RWG, the German aerospace bearing manufacturer that Kaman acquired in 2002. He added that the synergies within the group’s divisions “create a meaningful bearing business supporting principally the OEMs, airlines and MRO operators.”

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