Arlington Capital closes acquisition of Triumph’s composites business, forms Qarbon Aerospace

Private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners, (Washington, D.C., U.S.) announced on May 10 that it has completed the acquisition of Triumph Group Inc.’s (Berwyn, Pa., U.S.) composites business, which was originally announced about nine months ago in 2020. Going forward, the business will operate independently as Qarbon Aerospace.

Qarbon Aerospace is a leading provider of large, complex structural components and assemblies such as fuselages, wings, flight control surfaces, and engine nacelles. The company operates nearly two million square feet of factory space across three facilities located in Red Oak, Tex., Milledgeville, Ga. and Rayong, Thailand. Qarbon Aerospace has vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities from component fabrication through large-scale assembly as well as proprietary thermoplastics technologies. The company also has longstanding relationships with blue-chip OEM customers and a diversified product portfolio across a variety of successful commercial, defense, and business jet platforms.

Pete Wick, formerly executive vice president of Triumph Group who ran all of Triumph Aerospace Structures, will lead Qarbon Aerospace as CEO. Wick reportedly brings deep sector knowledge and an extensive network of relationships to the company, having spent nearly 30 years working in the aerospace and defense industry. While at Triumph, he was responsible for a greater than $2 billion revenue division spanning 34 manufacturing sites. Earlier in his career, he held a variety of leadership positions at GKN Aerospace (Redditch, U.K.), EADS Astrium (Paris, France) and General Dynamics (New York, N.Y., U.S.).

“I am delighted to join the formation of Qarbon Aerospace at a critical inflection point for the company,” says Wick. “We have state-of-the-art facilities, dedicated employees and an outstanding leadership team in place that will allow us to continue delivering the highest quality products to our customers. Arlington brings deep A&D experience, extensive resources, and a shared vision for the future that will be extremely valuable to the company.”

According to Arlington Managing Partner Peter Manos, complex composite manufacturing has been a longstanding investment focus for Arlington. “Qarbon Aerospace represents a global Tier 1 supplier with a rare technological competency and scale to manufacture a variety of very large, complex fabrications and assemblies across all structural sections of the aircraft and engine nacelles,” Manos notes. “The company’s vertically integrated capabilities, advanced composite manufacturing techniques and proprietary thermoplastics technology position the company to continue to win attractive work packages on next-generation programs.”