Family To Sell Storied Hartzell Aviation in Piqua to Equity Firm

Oct. 19—A New York private equity firm is positioned to take ownership of Hartzell Aviation.

Arcline Investment Management said Thursday that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Hartzell Aviation from Tailwind Technologies.

"Our family has been blessed to be the stewards of Hartzell Aviation for 37 years," Hartzell Aviation President Jim Brown said in a statement. "As we look to the future, we believe Arcline fully embraces our core value — built on honor — and will bring the skills and resources to build on over a century of excellence and innovation."

Terms of the acquisition were not given in the announcement.

Hartzell designs and manufactures proprietary aircraft subsystems and aftermarket components. The company operates two business units: Hartzell Propeller and Hartzell Engine Tech.

The company was born in 1917 when Orville Wright — a friend of Robert Hartzell, son of business founder George Hartzell — suggested that the Hartzells use walnut wood to build airplane propellers. Soon, with one employee, the older Hartzell was doing just that, according to the company's history.

Jim Brown Jr. — father of James and Joseph Brown — bought Hartzell from TRW in 1987. The company had 245 local employees about six years ago.

"As investors exclusively focused on critical suppliers to critical industries, Hartzell's portfolio of flight-critical propeller and engine subsystems for a large and long-lived installed base fits perfectly with Arcline's strategy," the new owner said in a release. "We are excited to partner with the Hartzell team to carry on its legacy generated over the past 100 years and facilitate the Company's next phase of growth."

Hartzell was owned by a Piqua-based holding company, Tailwind Technologies, which also owned an Alabama business, Hartzell Engine Technology. Tailwind was essentially a business instrument for buying compatible companies, the Browns told the Dayton Daily News in a 2017 interview.

An Arcline representative declined to comment. A message seeking comment was left for Brown.

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