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Forgacs, Australia’s largest shipbuilder, is spreading its wings into the aerospace sector through the takeover of a company that makes parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project.
Newcastle-based Forgacs said this week it has acquired Broens, an engineering company that is part of the Joint Strike Fighter global supply chain.
Forgacs chief executive Lindsay Stratton said the deal was the first step in the company’s move to diversify and expand. Moreover, it would create a company signs “unique and very marketable mix of capabilities”.
“We are widely recognised for our maritime offering through naval shipbuilding and our through life support operations,” Stratton said in a statement.
“Now we will also be involved with the land and air aspects of defence. This is an exciting and undoubtedly challenging opportunity but we are very much looking forward to making it work.”
Forgacs is part of the team building the $8 billion Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyers (AWD) for the Royal Australian Navy. It is manufacturing 37 of 93 AWD hull blocks.
Meanwhile, Broens, which specialises in high-tech precision engineering and aerospace, supplied specialised tooling to major contractors of the F-35 project.
Tom
says:This is a bad idea.
Raymond
says:Second that. Just doesn’t seem right or like a wise move.
Wait for the announcement in a few years’ time along the lines of… “Forgacs has invited submissions of interest for Broens due to wanting to focus on its core business model and return to its shipbuilding roots amid mounting losses…”
Guest
says:What you don’t realise is that Shipbuilding isn’t Forgacs only business. It’s actually an engineering company and has been for 40 years that also builds ships. In my opinion it’s a great move into another sector in high tech engineering. Good luck to them. I’m sure they will do very well.