Shrewsbury engineering firm renamed following takeover
An engineering business based in Shrewsbury has been renamed following a takeover.
Radius Aerospace is the new name for the former Doncasters site, based at the Sentinel Works on Whitchurch Road.
It comes after Radius Aerospace, a portfolio company of private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners, acquired the Doncasters Group's aerospace forming and fabricating business in Shrewsbury and Sheffield.
The Shrewsbury site will continue to specialise in manufacturing a wide array of parts, including blades, exhausts and aerofoils, for the aerospace industry.
David Baker, general manager of the Shrewsbury site which employs 226 people, said the move will “help secure the long-term future of the operation and its staff” in the county town.
"We are excited to partner with veteran aerospace leaders like Radius and Arlington Capital for the next stage of our company’s growth," he said.
He is also hoping to build on the success the team has had in transforming the fortunes of the business in the last couple of years.
Mr Baker said: "I came here just under five years ago and the site was probably not heading in the right direction and was going down a path nobody wanted it to go down.
"We knew we had a lot of work to do here. I think over the last three years we have made some significant changes and strides in this whole business – from how the front of the business looks, to the significant investment this site has had, which had not been the case historically.
"It's now in a position and on a path to continue to grow and do the right things as a business.
"When I started, we were definitely an ad hoc business, firefighting every day, to a point now where we are now managing the business and processes.
Progress
"We now have put a full management structure in place. We have made significant progress since the introduction of this new team, and have gone from not knowing what was happening on a daily basis to managing on an hour-by-hour basis."
In the last few years there has been investment in its manufacturing, part of a fresh drive to upgrade machinery at the historic engineering site.
“We have been significantly growing the site in the last three years," said Mr Baker.
"Our fabrications division is on course to nearly double this year, and our machining division is up by 10 per cent. These are phenomenal numbers in any manufacturing industry, whether it is aerospace or not.
"New machines have gone in and we have created space for further investments. We are already future-proofing ourselves."
The business will also be looking to recruit new staff in the future.
Peter Manos, a managing partner at Arlington Capital, said: “We are very excited about this highly complementary acquisition which will create one of the largest and most vertically integrated independent aerospace forming companies in the industry. Radius now has an international presence serving a truly global customer base across a diversified set of end-markets."
Kevan Donohoe, executive vice president of Radius Europe, added: "The independent aerospace forming and fabrications pure play and the commitment of capital to the business will allow us to better serve our customers, increase our foothold in the market, and become the employer of choice within the Shrewsbury region."
