MAGROUP Magnaghi Aeronautica Group, a leading provider of landing gear systems and composite aerostructure components for helicopter and medium-sized aircraft platforms, on Tuesday announced the acquisition of Five Valleys Aerospace, a Gloucestershire-based manufacturer of machined parts and provider of surface treatments to the aerospace industry.

The acquisition, which marks the entry of the MAGROUP into the UK aerospace market, is the latest milestone in the evolution of the company that has its headquarters in Italy. Under the leadership of Paolo Graziano, Group CEO, the company has expanded its global footprint significantly over the last decade, with offices and an industrial footprint in Brazil and the United States. Founded in 1936, the company has so far produced over 20,000 landing gears for more than 7,000 aircraft. Five Valleys Aerospace comprises two business units – Nu-Pro and Stanmar. Alberto de Benedictis, Magnaghi (UK) Chairman, said: “The UK aerospace market offers major opportunities; there are a number of programs that are of interest to us, including the Tempest. The acquisition of Five Valleys Aerospace is just the first step in our journey to become a major player in the market as a supplier of engineering capability and components for the aerospace sector. We intend to expand our presence not only in the UK market but also the UK export market.”

Earlier this year, MAGROUP was selected to supply the fully integrated landing gear system for the advanced rotorcraft that Sikorsky-Boeing are proposing for the United States Army's Future Vertical Lift program.

Racer, the high-speed compound helicopter that is under development at Airbus Helicopters in Marignane, France, has a landing system that has been developed and qualified by the ANGELA consortium that is headed by MAGROUP.