SPIROL Acquires Ford Aerospace

DANIELSON, CT—SPIROL has acquired Ford Aerospace Ltd. of South Shields, UK.

Ford Aerospace was founded at Tyne Dock in 1910 by Robert Ford, and the family business has most recently been led by the founder’s great-grandson, Chris Ford. The company specializes in manufacturing high-precision metal components and subassemblies for the aerospace, industrial and high-technology sectors. It’s been a leading supplier over its 113-year history dating back almost as far as the first recorded flight in 1903 by the Wright Brothers.

SPIROL is a family-owned company with a history tied to aviation development. Founded in 1948 by Herman Koehl, the grandfather of the current CEO Jeff Koehl, SPIROL has grown from a single manufacturing facility in the United States to a global enterprise with manufacturing or distribution locations on four continents and 12 countries across North America, South America, Europe and Asia. With a legacy spanning 75 years in fastening, joining and assembly, SPIROL will take Ford Aerospace’s products to a wider international market.

“Ford Aerospace is, and always has been, here for the people, especially our dedicated and skilled team, and it was important that any new Ford Aerospace owner share the values that have been at the heart of the company for over 100 years,” says Ford. “Our two companies have a long history of working together, dating back to 1980, when SPIROL licensed a specialized manufacturing process from Ford Aerospace, which is still in use today. SPIROL respects Ford’s strong position in the UK market and our product manufacturing knowledge. SPIROL and Ford’s approach to its employees and its customers align wonderfully, and I am excited to see our strong business carry on as part of the successful SPIROL group.”

Ford Aerospace’s technical skills in “space-compensating” management—the production of laminated and solid shims that ensure fast, precision tolerance compensation for assemblies such as fuselages, gearboxes and movable components—was a key offering that attracted SPIROL. These solid and laminated shims enable clients to reduce stock of individual shims and offers the option of “sizing” a particular shim by adjusting the shim pack to the desired thickness on assembly. These products simplify the assembly process while simultaneously reducing the overall cost of the assembly.

“SPIROL is an engineering, manufacturing and sales driven company, and as such we seek to grow and expand in our product space,” says Ken Hagan, a division president at SPIROL. “Where appropriate, this includes acquiring and holding exceptional companies that fit well with our overall business, global strategy and culture of excellence. We are excited to have Ford Aerospace join SPIROL and to be able to offer a more complete solution to our customers in Europe and beyond. We anticipate running Ford as a standalone business unit within the SPIROL group of companies. By combining the capabilities of both companies, our objective is to enhance our value-added offering to our customers both in technical expertise and products.”

The ASSEMBLY Show South

ASSEMBLY is thrilled to return to the Music City Center in Nashville, TN for The ASSEMBLY Show SOUTH on May 1-2, 2024. This is a booming time for manufacturing and the U.S. South is right in the heart of the action. According to ASSEMBLY’s most recent annual capital spending survey, the South is projected to account for 31 percent of total spending this year, marking the fifth straight year this region has accounted for at least 30 percent of capital spending in the U.S.

In this session, manufacturers will learn how Quality function deployment (QFD) can transform consumers’ qualitative demands into quantitative parameters that will shape the design of their product and, ultimately, their manufacturing process.

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