The new staff and facilities will add metallic manufacturing, machining, forming, and bonding to RWC’s technical expertise, the company said.
The executive team believes that the complementary capabilities of Performance Plastics offer significant expansion potential for Rock West, as the business continues to meet its aggressive growth targets.
SAN DIEGO—Rock West Composites (RWC) has acquired the assets of Performance Plastics, Inc. (PPI) and is integrating PPI’s staff, facility, and equipment into its operations, RWC said in a release.
The addition of Performance Plastics is expected to expand RWC’s product offering into complementary markets that have little overlap with its existing businesses but use similar materials and processes, according to the release. The new staff and facilities will also add metallic manufacturing, machining, forming, and bonding to RWC’s technical expertise, the company said.
California-based PPI is a manufacturer of precision-engineered composite aerostructure components for major military and commercial OEMs, as well as Tier 1 suppliers. The company, founded in 1982, focuses on small- to mid-size assemblies, and has an extensive list of customer qualifications covering both metal bond and composites processes, according to the release.
Performance Plastics is said to bring significant business opportunities to RWC through its customer process specification approvals and long-term supply agreements with multiple prime contractors. Its staff of 80 people represents a complementary and diverse talent base that will augment RWC’s team of employee-owners, resulting in a team of 360 employees. The addition of PPI’s 50,000 square feet to RWC’s current expansion of its Salt Lake City facility will increase total manufacturing space to more than 275,000 square feet, according to the release.
“Today marks an historic and exciting milestone for all of us,” said Performance Plastics President Jim Renaud, in the release. “The transaction of Rock West Composites, Inc., adding Performance Plastics, Inc. is complete. Together, we will form a stronger business, drive further growth and innovation, creating more value for our employees, customers, and suppliers.”
Rock West Composites is an employee-owned, advanced composites company that develops, engineers, manufactures, and tests composite products for multiple industries. Its customers span the aerospace and defense (space, radomes, and weapon components), commercial equipment (industrial, medical, and energy), and sporting goods (outdoor, racing safety, marine products) industries. The company is also said to be one of the largest e-commerce suppliers of off-the-shelf carbon fiber tubes, plates, materials, and accessories.
Rock West Composites CEO Jim Gormican said that the company is “very excited with the addition of PPI’s people, capability and capacity,” adding that it will enhance the value that they bring to their combined customer base. “This will clearly accelerate our strategic growth into the future,” he said in the release.