GarKenyon

July 14, 2022

The Loar Group Inc. Announces it is Acquiring Schroth Safety Products

Loar Group Inc. (Loar) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement for the purchase of Schroth Safety Products (Schroth). The transaction has received the required regulatory approvals and is scheduled to close before the end of July.

Headquartered in Arnsberg, NRW (Germany), Schroth is a leading designer and manufacturer of advanced occupant safety systems (e.g., seatbelts and airbags) for the global aerospace, defense, and high-performance consumer industries. Approximately 90% of Schroth’s sales are products which have customized designs containing proprietary intellectual property. Schroth’s customers include leading OEMs across both the commercial and military aircraft segment as well as those serving the automotive/racing and emergency services markets. With a strong background in engineering and design, the team at Schroth is highly regarded for its ability to meet and exceed customers’ needs in demanding certification environments.

“We are excited about the addition of Schroth to the Loar Family. The company’s strong management team, engineering talent, and product offerings will expand our capabilities and improve Loar’s ability to serve our customers’ unique and niche demands” stated Dirkson Charles, CEO and Co-Chairman of Loar Group. “Schroth brings a portfolio of trusted aerospace products, such as structure mounted airbags, two-point and multi-point restraints, and highly engineered military seating and restraints, in addition to non-aerospace restraints used in a multitude of racing applications. We have long admired the work of the team at Schroth and their ability to deliver highly engineered solutions to the market,” continued Mr. Charles. “Given that close to 60% of Loar’s sales are to the aftermarket, we are excited to help drive Schroth’s aftermarket sales to even higher levels, consistent with our current business profile. We believe the combination of Loar and Schroth will provide Schroth the ability to continue serving its customers with high quality and customized solutions, while also providing access to growth capital and human resources that can be used to meet their customers’ future needs.”

Loar Group Inc. is a diversified manufacturer and supplier with established relationships across leading aerospace and defense OEMs and Tier One customers worldwide. The Company’s mandate is to create a strategic global alliance of companies specializing in the design and manufacture of aerospace and defense components. Loar provides its partners and customers with innovative, cost-effective engineering and manufacturing capabilities and responsive, dependable service, leading to profitable and sustainable long-term relationships.

For more information, please contact Loar at info@loargroup.com

January 12, 2021
The Loar Group, Inc. Announces the Acquisition of Safe Flight Instrument Corporation

Loar Group, Inc. (Loar) announced today that it has recently added Safe Flight Instrument Corporation (Safe Flight) to its family of companies. Headquartered in White Plains, New York (USA), Safe Flight is a leading designer and manufacturer of proprietary aerospace electronic products and systems with its products installed on nearly two-thirds of the world’s aircraft. In addition, all Safe Flight’s products are proprietary whereby they own all key intellectual property rights. Their products include flight instrumentation, guidance and controls and they are the world’s premier manufacturer of aircraft lift instrumentation. Safe Flight’s customers include leading aircraft OEMs across all market segments with approximately seventy-five percent of Safe Flight’s products sold to the general or business aviation end markets, with the balance primarily sold to the commercial aerospace end market.

“The acquisition of Safe Flight adds a strong management team, along with expanded engineering, design, manufacturing, repair and overhaul talent to Loar allowing us to address additional unique and niche manufacturing and technological challenges faced by our customers” stated Dirkson Charles, CEO of Loar Group. “By adding Safe Flight to Loar’s suite of product offerings we have added product lines that include stall warning and protection, automatic throttle systems, fuselage airflow angle sensors, control shakers and icing condition detectors just to name a few of the specialized capabilities we have added to our family of companies. With over eighty-five percent of Loar’s sales coming from innovative and proprietary products we are uniquely positioned to solve problems for our customers” continued Mr. Charles. Loar Group’s acquisition of Safe Flight creates a partnership that allows Safe Flight to continue serving its existing customers while providing additional growth capital and human resources to meet expanded future customer needs.

Loar Group, Inc. is a diversified manufacturer and supplier with established relationships across leading aerospace and defense OEMs and Tier Ones worldwide. The Company’s mandate is to create a strategic global alliance of companies specializing in the design and manufacture of aerospace and defense components. Loar provides its partners and customers with innovative, cost-effective engineering and manufacturing capabilities and responsive, dependable service, leading to profitable and sustainable long-term relationships.

For more information please contact Mr. Dirkson Charles at dirksoncharles@loargroup.com.

Dear Supplier Partners,

As you are no doubt aware, the global spread of the COVID-19 virus has reached the United States and there now has been multiple confirmed cases of the virus affecting individuals throughout the United States. The protection and well-being of our colleagues, customers, suppliers and our surrounding communities from the risks of the spread of the COVID-19 virus is the top priority and therefore we have developed and implemented policies and procedures to address any outbreak in our community.

This communication is being sent to update you on the precautionary actions being taken at Gar Kenyon in alignment with our response plan that may impact representatives and employees from your company.

Effective March 13, 2020 and until further notice, suppliers will continue to be able to access the facility to drop-off and pick-up items, but no longer permitted to physically enter the building. Our shipping, receiving and outside processing personnel will remain available to meet suppliers and their representatives at our dock doors to facilitate transactions.

Please note that any supplier representative who has traveled to or through China, Italy, Iran, Japan and/or the Republic of Korea in the 14 days prior to their intended visit is strictly prohibited from entering the facility grounds. We ask for your help in self-identifying and assisting in advising any individual to which this would apply.

Please reinforce with your employees the need to practice good hygiene habits including the regular washing of hands and use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, as well as seeking appropriate medical attention if one feels ill or has a fever.

Effective March 13, 2020 customers will no longer be allowed to access the facility. All meetings and visits should be done via phone, web-ex or other appropriate media.

We would like to thank you for your support in adhering to these precautionary measures which have been established to limit the exposure to and potential spread of the COVID-19 virus. We will keep you informed of any changes to the policies as they become available. If you have any questions or require further clarification, please reach out to your point of contact in our Supply Chain organization.

Thank you,

Shelly Anderson
President

Gar Kenyon

June 23, 2016- GarKenyon will be attending the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK this year in July for the first time. For those attending come see us at the State of Connecticut Exhibit in Building 2 Booth 60. Contact sal…@garkenyon.com to schedule a meeting with us. Thanks!

March 23, 2015

The Loar Group today announced it has acquired SAF Industries, LLC (dba GarKenyon), a leading designer, manufacturer, and supplier of precision components used in hydraulic and pneumatic systems across the aircraft. Headquartered in Meriden, Connecticut (USA), GarKenyon designs and manufactures valves, manifolds and actuators for landing gear, flight controls, engine / fuel controls and other hydraulic and pneumatic systems for the commercial aerospace, business jet, general aviation and defense markets. Today over 95% of GarKenyon’s revenues are from proprietary products. The business will continue to operate as GarKenyon.

Speaking on behalf of the Loar Group, Dirkson Charles (Chief Executive Officer) said, “We are excited about the addition of GarKenyon to the Loar Group family of companies. The combination of Loar’s aerospace experience, entrepreneurial spirit, and resources with GarKenyon’s deep experience in hydraulic, pneumatic and electromechanical components will result in a stronger enterprise that is better positioned to serve our customers. The addition of GarKenyon’s highly engineered and proprietary products will also allow us to improve our solutions-based engineering approach to assisting Loar’s customers. We are focused on bringing our resources to bear to position GarKenyon to invest in new platforms, and we look forward to continuing to work with GarKenyon’s strong group of blue-chip aerospace customers.”

Steve Fournier, Chief Executive Officer of GarKenyon said, “I am very pleased to transition ownership and management of GarKenyon to the Loar Group. Loar is an outstanding organization with a strong track record of driving growth of its business units while working together with its customers to provide high quality aerospace components. I look forward to watching GarKenyon continue to grow under the leadership of the Loar management team.”

The Loar Group is a diversified manufacturer and supplier with established relationships with leading aerospace and defense OEMs worldwide. Its mandate is to create a strategic global alliance of companies specializing in the design and manufacture of aerospace and defense components. Loar provides its partners and customers with innovative, cost-effective capabilities and responsive, dependable service, leading to profitable and sustainable long-term relationships. The Loar Group is an affiliate of JLL Partners, Inc.

JLL Partners is a middle-market private equity firm with a 27-year track-record of adding value to complex investments through financial and operational expertise. Since its founding in 1988, JLL Partners has committed approximately $4.4 billion across six funds. The firm has developed significant expertise in sectors including aerospace, healthcare, building products, financial services, and business services.For more information, please visit www.jllpartners.com

For more information please contact Mr. Dirkson Charles at dirksoncharles@loargroup.com or visit our company websites: www.loargroup.com and www.garkenyon.com

GarKenyon’s 60 years of experience as a supplier to the aviation industry has been enhanced by a growth in its engineering department, developing new products to meet customer demands. A notable, recent piece of business is the production of valves and spoilers for the privately funded spaceship company, Virgin Galactic, a company on track to be the world’s first commercial spaceline.

GarKenyon’s focus and expertise is in the design, fabrication, assembly and testing of components for the aviation and defense industries. The Naugatuck company produces hydromechanical, electromechanical and mechanical parts and assemblies. From master brake cylinders, shuttle valves, restrictors and shutoff valves to main landing gear door actuators and potable water fill-valves, GarKenyon products can be found in military aircraft, long-range business jets, the KC46 tanker, a Russian commercial jet and more. GarKenyon prides itself on technical excellence, responsiveness and innovation.

The company’s roots date back to the 1950s when Kenyon Instrument merged with Gar Precision’s valve division in Brewster, New York. After dominating the military market with products on attack, fighter and transport aircraft and expanding into the general and business aviation market, GarKenyon was acquired by SAF Industries in 2003 and moved to Naugatuck. In 2011, SAF Industries acquired General Pneumatics Company of New Jersey, which has broadened GarKenyon’s capabilities and offerings, including a product line and improvements for inflatable devices for air slides and missiles.

Chairman & CEO Steve A. Fournier says the company has seen a 25 percent growth in 2013 and 20 percent so far in 2014. He attributes the growth to the development of new products and an expanded presence with their sales offices – one in Sarasota, Florida, and a new one in Palmdale, California. He also noted that the company conducts process improvement events to ensure production is running efficiently.

Involvement with the Naugatuck and Waterbury Regional Chambers and their Manufacturers Council has been a good affiliation, according to Fournier. He mentioned Richard DuPont, of Resource Development Associates and Chair of the Council, as a good liaison and contact person for manufacturing issues. Fournier also appreciates Chamber lobbyist Armando Paolino, of Paolino Public Affairs Corp., paying attention to the needs of manufacturers. “The Chamber is doing a good job,” he said, “The networking has helped us connect with resources for such areas as labor development and recruitment.”

GarKenyon has also had a good track record with interns, some of whom have been hired in permanent positions. The company was able to hire two engineering interns (one male and one female) from Central Connecticut State University through the aid of the Connecticut Innovations Program. “We put them right to work,” said Fournier. “They see first-hand how valves work, they help improve designs and they make customer calls.”

Fournier expects the company to continue growing because of the nature of what they do. He noted that it is sometimes four to five years before they are paid for a part, because of research, development, design and then production. However, once that initial investment is made, the company could be producing the part for many years to come.

gar-kenyon-blog

Although the U.S. government’s defense budget has been shrinking over the past few years, Gar Kenyon continues to find success in providing support for a wide range of military platforms, including programs in development, full-rate production programs, and legacy programs that are being upgraded and modified.

NAUGATUCK, CT – As the U.S. government continues to tighten its belt by reducing the defense budget, GarKenyon Aerospace and Defense finds ways to thrive. “Our ongoing success in light of the decreases in military spending is a testament to our ability to be responsive to the changing needs of our customers,” explains GarKenyon’s sales and marketing manager Eric Mansholt. “In addition to the high level of customer service we provide, we have the ability to meet the military industry’s technical needs at competitive prices.”

According to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, taking into account the budget for 2014, total military defense spending has dropped more than $80.2 billion since 2010. This downward trend is expected to continue.

In addition to supporting existing full rate production platforms such as the Tactical Tomahawk cruise missile, GarKenyon is providing critical fluid control solutions for programs currently under development. These programs include the KC46A air refuel aircraft, Firebird UAV and the Scorpion light attack aircraft. Products include a solenoid controlled valve, flow limiter, pressure compensator, NLG actuator, and control and braking system valves.

One of the most effective ways the military is dealing with the shrinking budget is to revive legacy programs through upgrades and modifications. GarKenyon is supplying brake shuttle manifolds to assist the U.S. Air Force with retooling the E-6 program. “This is another area where we excel,” says Eric. “We are happy to able to respond quickly with the parts our customers need to extend the life of existing programs.”

About GarKenyon Aerospace and Defense
GarKenyon Aerospace and Defense is an industry leader in the design, fabrication, assembly, and testing of components for the aviation and defense industries. For more than 60 years, GarKenyon has been committed to creating the most advanced mechanical, electromechanical, and hydro-mechanical aerospace components and assemblies.

To learn more about GarKenyon’s aerospace, design, fabrication, assembly, and testing capabilities, please contact the following and visit their website at www.garkenyon.com

Contacts

Jonathan Fournier
Vice President of Sales
GarKenyon Aerospace and Defense
Phone 203-317-2670
Cell – 203-558-1887
Fax – 203-317-2605

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, the builder of the world’s finest military fighter, transport and surveillance aircraft and commercial transport aircraft, relies heavily on its supply base to provide the key and critical components we need to meet our customer’s needs. SAF Industries is one of those companies we depend on.

In 2012, SAF Industries has successfully delivered their product to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company 100% on time and with zero quality defects. This doesn’t happen without a workforce dedicated to the highest standards of performance.

Lockheed Martin wishes recognize and thank SAF Industries and its employees for their attention to detail and commitment to their customer needs in 2012.

Contact Us to Schedule a Meeting

On Meeting with customers at the NBAA in Orlando, Florida this week, CEO Steven Fournier had this to say: “Positive momentum in short term sales, with strong activity on new platforms.”

GarKenyon Aerospace and Defense was featured on a recent episode of Business Update:Aerospace & Defense on The Discovery Channel

February 13, 2012 – Naugatuck, Connecticut

Chairman & CEO Steven Fournier has transformed GarKenyon Aerospace & Defense into an efficient, lean manufacturer of aerospace hydraulic & pneumatic components. With more than 60 years of experience, GarKenyon has weathered the recent tough economic storm and come out stronger than ever before.

This particular episode of Business Update: Aerospace & Defense aired on February 23rd. The segment focused on the advancements that GarKenyon has made in the field of high quality, hydraulic/pneumatic and electromechanical aerospace components. It also highlighted the innovative lean business practices that were instituted by Fournier when he took the company over in 2003 and relocated it to Naugatuck, CT. “GarKenyon’s teams of dedicated and talented professionals have set the stage for a culture of innovation and relentless focus on serving our customers’ needs enabling us to enjoy the growth that we have experienced. Our recent leadership changes including the promotion of Khoi Vu to President & COO shall only serve to accelerate our rate of progress through organic growth and acquisitions,” said Chairman & CEO Steven Fournier.

“The aerospace industry has taken a tremendous hit in recent years. It is truly impressive to watch an American based manufacturer like GarKenyon weather the storm and come out on top,” said producer Vince Moss.

Additionally, this segment will air the week of March 12^th on DISH and DIRECTV. Special shortened versions will be shown at select airport locations via the CNN Airport Network beginning Feb 27th.

About Business Update: Aerospace & Defense

Whether by land, air or sea, this special edition series is dedicated to highlighting the organizations and technologies protecting our country. Topics include: Aircraft, Avionics, Simulation, Defense, UAV, Technology and much more. For more information visit: www.dmgproductions.org or call (866) 496-4065.

GarKenyon Aerospace and Defense was featured on a recent episode of Business Update:Aerospace & Defense on The Discovery Channel

Recent News

The Loar Group Inc. Announces it is Acquiring Schroth Safety Products

The Loar Group, Inc. Announces the Acquisition of Safe Flight Instrument Corporation

Notice to Suppliers – COVID-19 Precautions