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Rolls-Royce to Buy Huntington Beach Maker of Engine Parts

Aerospace and defense manufacturer Rolls-Royce PLC has acquired a Huntington Beach-based parts supplier in its first acquisition in Southern California.

The London-based company said it was attracted to Hyper-Therm High Temperature Composites Inc.’s line of composites used in the gas turbine engine Rolls-Royce manufactures.

“This was a unique business opportunity to acquire the people and technology for what we believe is the future of aerospace engineering,” said spokesperson Joel Reuter. “We hope to grow the facility there and continue serving the customer base.”

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hyper-Therm will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Rolls-Royce and maintain its 12,000-square-foot Huntington Beach operation that employs 15 workers.

It had Rolls-Royce as a costumer for years.

Hyper-Therm’s high-temperature composite materials and engineered coatings are billed as making turbine engines lighter, stronger and more fuel efficient while reducing maintenance costs.

Demand for such types of lighter components have grown in the past five years and are seen as gradually replacing super alloys, such as nickel, according to Reuter.

Rolls-Royce plans to use the new technology to develop and replace engine components and systems over the next five to 10 years, he said.

The company, which primarily makes power systems and engines for the aerospace, energy and nautical markets, saw revenue of about $19.5 billion last year.

It employs about 7,700 people in the U.S. and operates a maintenance facility for gas turbine engine overhaul and repair in Oakland, its lone California operation prior to the deal.

Rolls-Royce separated its car division in 1973, naming it Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd.

That unit and its famous double R trademark were acquired in a bidding war for about $712 million in 1998 by German automaker Volkswagen Group, which then agreed to split the company with rival BMW AG.

BMW, as part of the agreement, took complete control over Rolls-Royce naming and production rights in 2003, while Volkswagen assumed the same rights on Bentley models.

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