Air Comm Corporation (ACC), which designs and certifies environmental control systems (ECS) for turbine helicopters, has acquired Meggitt (Addison), the former Keith Products, in a stock purchase. Keith Products is a leading supplier of ECS for the General Aviation markets. This strategic acquisition combines Keith Products’ fixed-wing market focus with ACC’s strength in the rotorcraft market. The combined enterprise will make ACC the leading ECS manufacturer in both of these markets.
Keith Products has 40 air conditioner Supplemental Type Certificates for a wide variety of aircraft and is also a major supplier of type-certificated systems to original equipment manufacturers, including Beechcraft, Cessna, Eurocopter, Learjet, Piaggio, Pilatus, Korea Aerospace Industries and Sikorsky Aircraft. This product line, customer base, and technology is complementary to ACC’s 26-year focus designing and producing ECS and other thermal management solutions for the rotorcraft industry’s operators, service centers and OEMs. ACC’s major customers include Bell Helicopter, Sikorsky Aircraft, AgustaWestland, Eurocopter, Enstrom Helicopter, and the U.S. Army.
Both ACC and Keith Products have common roots going back to 1979 when ACC’s founder, Norm Steiner, worked for JB Systems, Inc. in Longmont, Colorado. When JB systems was sold to Parker Hannifin and moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1986, Steiner remained in Colorado and founded ACC. After several transitions , the JB Systems Parker division was acquired by what is known today as Keith Products (Meggitt (Addison) Inc.).
ACC’s CEO, Keith Steiner, commented: “The unification of the two companies not only has full-circle historic significance, but also creates tremendous value for the aerospace industry.” Steiner continued, “We can now provide to our customers the greatest concentration of ECS and thermal management solutions with the best product support expertise in the industry. We are very committed to maintaining our culture of innovation, responsiveness, entrepreneurial flexibility, and product support, and look forward to providing best-in-class service and support to the customers of both organizations.”