MB Aerospace has acquired Norbert Industries, the aero-engine component manufacturer with operations in Michigan (USA) and Rzeszow (Poland). This deal means that the Motherwell-based company now employs nearly 900 people in North America and Europe. In addition, it expands the number of aero-engines supported by MB Aerospace to more than 60 OEM platforms across commercial, industrial gas turbine and defence applications.

CEO Craig Gallagher said: “The Norbert business has great potential to support our growth ambitions. This acquisition will also enable us to continue building an efficient organisation to serve our OEM customers, as they continue to grow.

“Not only are we acquiring two high-performance operations with attractive manufacturing capabilities and customer-service-led management teams, we are also securing significant additional engineering and manufacturing capacity. We are particularly excited that this acquisition brings with it a significant level of engineering and manufacturing capacity in Rzeszow, where Norbert Industries co-located in 2008 after itself acquiring a Pratt & Whitney manufacturing division with a significant presence in the region.

“Rzeszow is in the heart of Poland’s ‘aviation valley’ — a region in south-eastern Poland that has a strong aero-engine manufacturing community, with access to skilled capacity, deep engagement of the local government and technical colleges, and manufacturing operations from a number of key OEMs.”