Precision Castparts Corp. expands forging capabilities, aerospace sway.

Precision Castparts Corp., Portland, Ore., has agreed to acquire the assets of McWilliams Forge Company Inc., Rockaway, N.J., marking the company's third acquisition of an aerospace-focused company in a month and a half.

Precision announced the acquisition of primarily aerospace investment caster GSC Foundries Inc., Ogden, Utah, on Dec. 11, 2006. Less than one month later, on Jan. 8, 2007, the company agreed to acquire Cherry Aerospace LLC, Santa Ana, Calif.

Privately held McWilliams focuses on the same end-use market; its 120-employee facility manufactures titanium, nickel and steel forgings primarily for commercial and military aerospace applications. McWilliams operates both hammer and screw presses for open-and closed-die forging.

Precision, which will finance the latest acquisition--the amount was undisclosed--with cash on hand and its existing credit facilities, already operates several other for ging operations.

"McWilliams provides an excellent 'tuck-in' opportunity for [existing forging operation] Wyman-Gordon, producing components sized between those manufactured at our Lincoln, England, and Cleveland facilities," said Mark Donegan, Precision's chairman and chief executive officer. "In addition to serving several major aerospace OEMs, McWilliams has done a particularly good job of establishing solid, long-term relationships with the manufacturers of smaller aircraft engines. McWilliams' brings us the ability to forge different materials and different size ranges, and we look forward to increasing production volume on this asset going forward. Each of our recent 'tuck-ins,' McWilliams, GSC, and Cherry, will become part of a different business segment."