GKN acquires Volvo’s aerospace division
Aerospace giant GKN has acquired Volvo Aero in a deal worth £633million.
The move, according to GKN's chief executive Nigel Stein, will help the company enhance its engine components business and become a major player in the aero engine sector.
"Volvo Aero has invested heavily to secure positions on new engine programmes, offering a long term platform for growth," Stein noted. "Its strong standing with customers, together with its skilled workforce and high quality engineering team, will be a valuable addition to GKN."
Volvo Aero designs, engineers and manufactures components and sub-assemblies for aircraft engine turbines. It supplies all the major aero engine manufacturers and has positions on most major civil aerospace platforms. The company employs some 3,000 people based in Sweden, Norway and the USA.
Commenting on the acquisition, Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "This is good news for the UK aerospace sector and I welcome the fact that a UK company has the confidence to pursue a takeover of this scale. Our aerospace sector, which employs 100,000 people, is world class and through deals such as this continues to bolster its position as Europe's largest. It's particularly welcome coming just a few days ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow, where the world will come to the UK to see the strengths we have as a nation in this industry."
Elsewhere in the aerospace market, Airbus has announced plans to open its first production facility in the US, a move that is expected to create 1,000 jobs and help the company take on its biggest rival, Boeing.
News of the new Alabama plant has sparked concerns, however, that some of the company's work will be moved overseas, although senior executives have maintained that Airbus' vital research and development work will remain in Bristol.
