Gooch & Housego : Two acquisitions in the Aerospace & Defense sector

Ilminster 11 July 2016

Gooch & Housego PLC announces that it has completed two acquisitions that further strengthen the company's aerospace & defense manufacturing abilities.

Kent Periscopes
Kent Periscopes Ltd, a UK based specialist supplier of periscopes, vehicle sights and related equipment for land based armored fighting vehicles (AFVs). The acquisition is aligned with G&H's strategic objectives of moving up the value chain and further diversification in the aerospace & defense sector

Kent was founded in 2005 and has established itself as a market leading key supplier on major vehicle programs to blue-chip military manufacturers. It is based in St Asaph, North Wales, has a proven capability in providing system level optical products for use in harsh environments and has capabilities in product design.The addition of Kent significantly adds to G&H's precision optics opto-mechanical assembly capabilities.

Alfalight
G&H has also acquired the trade and assets of Alfalight Inc, a Madison, Wisconsin based designer and manufacturer of high reliability, rugged laser based, electro-optic systems for defense and security applications.

Founded in 1999, Alfalight has established itself as an expert in solid state lasers and is designed into a number of long-term contracts for the defense sector in the USA. Alfalight is highly complementary to G&H's existing Boston, Massachusetts, business and will be incorporated into this business unit. G&H will benefit from this acquisition through its deep ties with key defense customers.

Summary
Both acquisitions further the Company's strategic objective of diversification into the aerospace & defense sector.

Mark Webster, Chief Executive Officer of Gooch & Housego, commented:

'These acquisitions meet our strategic aims of moving up the value chain and diversification through increasing our footprint in the Aerospace & Defense sector. Kent is a well established business with an impressive list of international blue chip customers. We believe that G&H will enable this business to fulfill its true potential through leveraging our greater global reach and our complementary technological capabilities. Alfalight's expertise in diode lasers in the US defense sector is an excellent fit for our Boston business and will enable it to establish a critical mass in this marketplace.We are very much looking forward to working with the management, staff and customers of both companies.'