Meggitt PLC is a British engineering business specialising in aerospace equipment. It has its headquarters at Bournemouth Airport in Dorset. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
The Company was established in the 1940s as a machine tool business based in Halifax known as Willson Lathes. It went public in 1947 and in 1964 acquired an engineering business in Dorset known as Meggitt. The Company subsequently changed its name from Willson Lathes to Meggitt Holdings. In 1983 it was acquired by Nigel McCorkell and Ken Coates together with 3i Group in a management buy-in. In 1986 it bought Bestobell, another large engineering business.[2]
In 2004 it acquired the design and manufacturing division of the Dunlop Standard Aerospace Group for circa £700 million.[3] In 2007 Meggitt acquired K&F Industries, the parent company of the Aircraft Braking Systems Corporation, for circa £930 million.[4] In 2010, Meggitt acquired Pacific Scientific Aerospace from Danaher.[5]
Meggitt owns Securaplane, maker of the battery charger for the GS Yuasa lithium cobalt oxide (LiCo) batteries for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet grounded in January 2013. The investigation found that the Securaplane battery charger was not at fault for any defective batteries, and Meggitt was given the "all clear".[6][7]
In 2013, Meggit also bought the company, PiezoTech LLC. PiezoTech is a company specializing in piezo ceramics and ultrasounds.[8]
In May 2013 Stephen Young, the company's Chief Financial Officer succeeded CEO Terry Twigger, who retired that month.[9]
In 2015, it carried out an acquisition of the composites division of EDAC, worth roughly £228.3 million.[10]
