A trio of precision manufacturers of aerospace, military, medical and automotive components is now operating under one roof in Huntington Beach, in a consolidation of efforts to better serve companies including Boeing and Northrop Grumman.
Delta Machine Co. has said goodbye to its plant in the South Bay city of Gardena, moving in with Fibreform Precision Machining Inc. in Surf City in what is technically being called a joint venture. The site has already been the home of Orlando Spring.
“We basically have consolidated, we’re in one facility,” said Zachary Fischer, a co-founder of private equity fund Crosse Partners, told the Business Journal on Sept. 2. He said the emphasis of the combined firms is on commercial aerospace and defense customers.
Crosse owns Fibreform and Orlando and holds a minority stake in Delta.
Broken down by company:
• Orlando Spring manufactures springs, wire forms, metal stampings, washers and small sub-assemblies for industries including aviation, space and defense.
• Fibreform manufactures low-to-medium volume precision military components for targeting systems, radar systems, camera and vision systems for both aircraft and ground vehicles.
• Delta manufactures medium-to-high volume precision components for automotive systems, and titanium aircraft components for both commercial aircraft and military.
Consolidated & Separate
“From the customer standpoint we do have to keep them separate,” said Fischer, whose fund is also in Huntington Beach. “There’s very much a common shared vision among the management team.”
He emphasized that the three companies need to stay separate to avoid customer confusion.
“Overall, all three organizations are focused on tight-tolerance, difficult-to-manufacture components and integrated assemblies to primarily support commercial aerospace and defense customers,” Fischer said. He added that Fibreform and Orlando have been striving to upgrade their equipment and capabilities.
Each company brings something different to the arrangement, including “cross-selling” capability.
“Fibreform is really strong in the defense industry, and Delta is bringing to the table a capability that Fibreform didn’t have, which is a whole new state-of-the art equipment,” said Delta Machine President Janos Garazci.
Frank Mauro, president of Fibreform Precision, said the equipment improvements will attract more business.
Fibreform deals directly with “all the primes” such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon while Delta deals indirectly with many of the top companies. Orlando Spring’s customer list includes Honeywell and Airbus in addition to Boeing and Raytheon.
Combined, the three companies have about 65 to 70 employees and annual sales of around $20 million.
Aerospace, Defense
Since 1980, Delta Machine has specialized in precision machining for the aerospace, defense, automotive, and medical industries.
Delta says most of its customers are in the aerospace industry, and it continuously researches new technologies, tools and equipment.
Fibreform was founded in 1958 and acquired by Crosse Partners of Huntington Beach in 2013. The company also provides parts for automotive customers.
“As a supplier to critical manufacturing sectors we are deemed an essential business and we remain operational in order to supply the needs of our customers and important supply chain partners,” Fibreform said in April.
