Biddeford's FMI acquired by Spirit AeroSystems
Courtesy / Fiber Materials Inc.
A production technician at work at Fiber Materials Inc. in Biddeford. The company has been acquired by Spirit AeroSystems.
Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE: SPR) has acquired Biddeford manufacturer Fiber Materials Inc., which specializes in high-temperature materials and composites, primarily for the defense industry.
FMI announced the Jan. 10 acquisition on its website Friday morning with a news release from Spirit AeroSystems. No financial information from the sale is being disclosed, the company said.
Acquiring FMI aligns with Spirit's strategic growth objectives to diversify its customer base and expand its current defense business, according to the release. The company is a leader in 3D woven carbon-carbon high-temperature materials for hypersonic missiles, which the Department of Defense has identified as a national priority, the release said.
FMI’s advanced capabilities in high-temperature materials, combined with Spirit’s expertise in industrializing next-generation aerostructures, creates a critical capability to industrialize state-of the-art defense technologies essential for the advancement of hypersonic weapons, Spirit's release said.
Based in Wichita, Kan., Spirit is one of the world’s largest non original-equipment manufacturer for commercial and defense aircraft. It has locations in Tulsa and McAlester, Okla.; Kinston, N.C.; Prestwick, Scotland; Subang, Malaysia; and Saint-Nazaire, France. The company’s core products include fuselages, pylons, nacelles and wing components. Additionally, Spirit provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services.
Spirit reported $7.8 billion in revenues in 2019, for 9% growth over 2018, in figures released today.
FMI growing, expanding
FMI has approximately 230 employees in at two sites in Biddeford, and expects to increase that to 300 or more by 2023. It reported double-digit growth the past two years. In December 2016, FMI was bought by Edgewater Capital Partners, a Cleveland-based private equity firm investing in lower, middle-market performance materials businesses.
New ownership brought in a new CEO, broadened the sales team and lent “fresh perspective,” all of which helped drive growth, Kate Whitney, marking communications manager told Mainebiz last March.
FMI's main operations focus on reinforced composites that enable high-temperature applications such as thermal protection systems, re-entry vehicle nose tips, rocket throats and nozzles. Its products are currently on the Trident D5, Standard Missile, PAC 3, THAAD and NASA programs such as Stardust, Mars Curiosity, Orion and Mars 2020.
Spirit, which manufactures fuselage structures and other components for Boeing, was directed in December from stopping all 737 MAX deliveries to Boeing temporarily after a pair of deadly crashes in late 2018 and early 2019.
"Because revenue from 737 aircraft components represents more than 50 percent of Spirit's annual revenue, this suspension will have an adverse impact on Spirit's business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows," the company said in a Jan. 1 news release. The quarterly report released today says that production will begin again in March and ramp up slowly through the year.
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