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Aviation History
2000
2000 - 1845.PDF
HEADLINES Northrop Grumman to sell aerostructures business GRAHAM WARWCK/WASHINGTON DC NORTHROP GRUMMAN has agreed to sell its commer cial aerostructures business to US investment firm The Carlyle Group in a transaction valued at $ 1.2 billion, including the assump tion of $400 million in unfunded retirement benefits. The aerostructures business produces subassemblies for most Boeing commercial aircraft, the Boeing C-17 military transport and the Gulfstream V business jet. Sales this year are expected to be around $1.2 billion. Carlyle says the business will remain based in Dallas, Texas, and will be renamed Vought Aircraft. Noithrop Grumman, meanwhile, is to restructure its Integrated Systems and Aerostructures sector following the sale, relocating the headquarters to Washington DC and renaming it the Integrated Systems Sector. Northrop Grumman linked with Carlyle in 1992 to buy LTVs Vought Aircraft operations, which form half of the commercial aerostructures business. The com pany bought out Carlyle's stake in 1994. The unit no longer fits into Northrop Grumman's strategy to focus on defence electronics and Carlyle is widening its aerostructures interest with Northrop Grumman buy information technology. Carlyle is already active in the business through its 1996 buy-out of Textron's aerostructures unit, now operated as Nashville, Tennessee-based Aerostructures. Carlyle is a frequent investor in aerospace, funding a management buy-out of freight carrier Gemini Air Cargo in July last year. Odier aviation investments include US fixed-base operator chain Pied mont/Hawthorne. Northrop Grumman says the sale of its aerostructures business will reduce revenues to $7.6 billion this year, down from $9 billion last year, but these are expected to increase next year to $8.4 billion because of strong growth in defence electronics and informa tion technology. The company has just announced the acquisition of US electronic warfare specialist Comptek Research, which had sales last year of $ 145 million. One reason given by Northrop Grumman for selling its commer cial aerostructures business is the expected fall in revenues with the scheduled decline in Boeing airlin er production rates. • Boeing seeks buyer for fabrication business BOEING IS LOOKING for a buyer for its St Louis, Missouri-based parts fabrication business. The company is looking for a fabrication specialist willing to leave the current operations in place and bring in more, non- Boeing, work to reduce costs. The business represents about 10% of the workforce and 15% of the facilities at Boeing's St Louis plant. It operates at about 40% of its capacity. Operations include high-speed machining, composites manufacturing and sheet-metal fabrication for the C-17 Globe- master, F-15 Eagle, F/A-18, T-45 Goshawk and AV-8B Harrier - worth about $300 million a year. Boeing is selling the business "to free resources and compete more effectively for prime contracts", says Military Aircraft and Missile Systems president Jerry Daniels. The company wants to focus on systems integration, which encom passes final assembly, test and delivery of aircraft. Negotiations are under way with a "small number" of potential buy ers prepared to keep die current operations in St Louis and consider ways to add business, invest in new technology and process improve ments and meet cost-reduction tar gets under a long-term supplier relationship with Boeing. Most of the 1,700-strong work force will transfer to the purchaser, with some initial job reductions. "We have structured the potential sale in such a way that a purchaser would have to add work to St Louis to meet cost targets," says Daniels. Boeing, meanwhile, has signed a $8.9 billion contract with the US Navy for multi-year procurement of222F/A-18E/Fs. • Eurocopter makes pitch to Portugual PAUL LEWIS/WASHINGTON DC JULIAN MOXON/PARIS PORTUGAL, under pressure from Eurocopter, has delayed selecting a new search-and-res- cue/maritime patrol helicopter until it has evaluated the improved AS532 Cougar Mk2Plus. Lisbon is being simultaneously enticed by a proposal to join the NH Industries NH90 programme. Eurocopter has won a reprieve for the Cougar in the face of a Portuguese air force move to drop the helicopter from the competi tion. The competing EH Industries EH101 and Sikorsky S-92 have already completed refer ence mission demonstrations, but the proposed five-blade AS532 Mk2Plus will not be ready to fly until September. The air force plans to order between eight and 12 SAR heli copters and an additional two machines for fishery protection. It has set demanding SAR require ments, including the capability to fly out to a range of 740km (400nm), hover out of ground effect for 30min and rescue sur vivors and return 740km. The existing four-blade Cougar is understood to fall short of this. "The Portuguese have been evaluating the three aircraft and our understanding is that the Cougar did not complete the refer ence mission and was deselected and that they are continuing to evaluate the S-92 and EH 101," says EHI partner GKN Westland. Meanwhile, the Eurocopter-led NHI consortium has opened the door to Portuguese participation in the NH90 programme. NHI claims Portugal "wants to join the launch group so that it can profit from being a member of a very large European programme." NHI's four partner nations, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, have invested $1.54 billion in the development of a tac tical transport and naval version of the NH90 and Portugal "would have to pay an entry fee," says the consortium. Portugal in return could take a small amount of manufacturing, repair and overhaul work. • 8 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20 - 26 June 2000
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