Aerospace Machining Company makes first foray into metalcasting market, may continue.

Paradigm Precision, Tempe, Ariz., a manufacturer of machined components for the aerospace and industrial gas turbine engine industries, announced it has completed the acquisition of metalcaster Eurocast, Tunis, Tunisia.

As part of a strategy to combine and grow multiple machining suppliers into an international player, Paradigm began seeking machining companies in mid-2006 and made its first purchase in February, acquiring machinist Smith West, Tempe, Ariz. The company more recently acquired Palmer Manufacturing, Malden, Mass., the parent company of Eurocast.

Smith West and Palmer both are machining-focused manufacturers dealing in jet engine housings, cases, shroud segments, half rings and combustion liners, as well as flange and thin wall rings, torque tubes, liners and nozzles, rotating, disks, seals, shafts and spools, casings, frames and housings.

"We went out looking for precision machining suppliers in that market, so [Eurocast] came with the acquisition," said Paradigm chairman and CEO Mike Harris. "But it was also very strategically attractive."

Harris said that because of the competitive market in which Eurocast operates, making investment castings for customers such as GE Aviation, Rolls-Royce, Volvo and Snecma, the company brings with it considerable engineering expertise. Eurocast also allows Paradigm to offer customers a more streamlined production process with vertical integration and cost competitiveness.

"At the end of the day, customers want to take waste out of the supply chain," Harris said.

A newly-formed company, Paradigm Precision counts among its customers three of the four largest gas turbine engine manufacturers worldwide, who use the components in a mix of power plants for commercial, business and defense aircraft.

"Smith West, Palmer and Eurocast are leaders in their segments, each having developed outstanding capability in the manufacture of very complex gas turbine engine and accessory components," Harris said. "Their capabilities are also complementary ... with approximately 400 employees, a combined 200,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space and an international customer base that includes General Electric, Volvo, Smiths Aerospace, Solar Turbine, Honeywell and Rolls Royce."

Paradigm Precision will integrate the companies and expects to broaden its product offering by closing additional acquisitions over the next 18 months.

That doesn't mean it will forget about the recent acquisitions. Harris said Paradigm expects not only to continue operating Eurocast, but "investing in it and growing it. It's a high growth business." In addition to investment casting, the company also does some finish machining in-house.

And while the company's startegy going forward still maintains a focus on machining, Harris said it will now include considerations in the metalcasting market.

"We're looking in those markets," Harris said. "Our stategy is to grow our production capability horizontally, but we also are on the lookout to vertically integrate. We think that's a value proposition that customers want. So if we find a casting house whose expertise fits ours--static engine structures--there's a lot of benefit there."