Portfolio Companies

R&B Machine | BrightWater Partners

Located in Southern California, R&B Machine is a leading fabrication services provider of close tolerance, high reliability satellite and space system components for NASA, commercial and military aircraft and various other aerospace customers. R&B began operations in 1997 and has developed an outstanding reputation among the largest, most sophisticated aerospace companies for its ability to deliver complex, high quality components under demanding delivery schedules. Its customers include ATK, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Orbital Sciences, among others. R&B is one of just several fabrication services providers in the United States that maintains the ISO9001;2000 and AS9100 Rev. B certifications, which are the aerospace industry’s highest levels of certification. R&B has expertise with advanced materials such as aircraft alloys, Titanium, MP-35 and A-286, Inconel, Invar and Kovar.

LatheWorx | BrightWater Partners

LatheWorx is a leading provider of metal fabrication services including CNC turning and milling, welding and assembly services to OEMs and suppliers in the Aerospace, Defense, Energy and Industrial sectors. LatheWorx is led by a team with decades of experience in providing critical solutions for its customers’ most demanding design and manufacturing challenges. With its strong customer base and outstanding engineering and machining capabilities, LatheWorx was integrated into R&B Machine. The combined organization provides its customers with an expanded service offering that includes lathe, EDM, CNC milling, welding and assembly services.

Friedrich Tool & Manufacturing

Friedrich Tool and Manufacturing is a 35 year old manufacturer of high quality, precision components for the aerospace, healthcare and general industrial sectors. Friedrich enjoys decades long relationships with leading, multi-national customers. Friedrich Tool was integrated into the R&B Machine platform and further enhances R&B’s regional footprint and ability to service its Fortune 500 customer base.

www.randbmachine.com


arista

Located in Enterprise, Alabama, Arista is a Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) approved company that specializes in the rebuild, upgrade and recertification of helicopter airframes and avionics. Arista improves the helicopters’ capability and reliability while lowering operating costs and extending aircraft service life for customers that include the U.S. government, defense sub-contractors, foreign countries (“Friends of the U.S.”), state fleets and corporate customers worldwide. Arista also sells new and refurbished spare parts for a variety of rotary aircraft. The company was awarded a 5 year $125MM Department of State Depot contract.

www.aristaas.com


Aircraft Investment Holdings is an investment fund that purchases and resells refurbished UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to commercial and government customers globally.


Advanced Technical Finishing | BrightWater Partners

ATF is a NADCAP certified provider of complex metal finishing services to leading OEMs and their key suppliers of metallic and composite components. Metal finishing is necessary to prevent corrosion, enhance lubricity and maintain the structural integrity of the material in a variety of high stress environments. ATF provides complex processes such as anodizing, passivation, electroless nickel, and chem-film. ATF provides metal finishing services for flight critical components for leading Aerospace companies including Lockheed Martin, Spacex, General Dynamics, Raytheon.

www.advancedtf.com


Midwest Transit Equipment

Located in Kankakee, IL, Midwest Transit Equipment is one the largest distributors of transportation vehicles in the United States with operating locations in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas and Missouri. The company offers a full range of transportation related products including new and used school buses, limo buses, tour/charter buses, childcare buses, college/university buses, wheelchair vans, senior living, mobility vehicles and activity buses.

Midwest Transit also offers its customers a full suite of service and maintenance capabilities.  The company is the largest distributor for IC Bus, a subsidiary of Navistar, as well as Collins School Bus, Starcraft School and Commercial Bus, Eldorado Bus, Elkhart Coach, Braun Corporation, Berkshire Coach and MV1.

An affiliate of Midwest Transit has completed the purchase of Capital City International, a Lansing, Michigan based distributor of International Trucks and IC school buses. Capital City also provides parts sales and a full range of maintenance services to its customers in the northern and central Michigan markets. Capital City was merged into Midwest Transit, adding to Midwest Transit’s existing geographies of Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri and southern Michigan.

Atlas Bus Sales Inc

 

Atlas Bus Sales is a 60-year-old Milwaukee, Wisconsin based distributor of new and used commercial buses, school buses and para-transit vans. The company offers the full line of Starcraft Bus products. Atlas also offers its customers parts sales and service.  Atlas Bus was merged into Midwest Transit, giving the company access to the Wisconsin market.

www.midwesttransit.com

 


Transit Funding Solutions (“TFS”) is a specialty finance company that offers leasing and other financing solutions for the purchase of transit equipment by governments, other tax-exempt entities, and key government contractors. TFS provides a variety of tax-exempt financing solutions that can be funded on an annual appropriated or fully appropriated basis to qualified government and other tax-exempt entities. TFS also provides innovative financing solutions to well performing government contractors that provide mission critical services to government entities throughout the United States.

Transit Funding Solutions provides credit worthy municipal governments/tax-exempt entities and government contractors the ability to lease transportation equipment for manageable annual payments over a 2-7 year lease term.

 


United Aero Group

United Aero Group is an aviation support management company focused on the sale of parts, repairs, consulting, and supplier integration to rotorcraft operators globally.  The company offers full supply chain management for its customers with the ability to manage and coordinate all aspects of helicopter operations. Through its partners, UAG offers a full suite of rotary aircraft lifecycle services including transport, training, fueling, repair, maintenance, sales and leasing.

www.unitedaerogroup.com

advanced composite structures

Founded in 1988, Advanced Composite Structures provides comprehensive rotor blade overhaul and repair services to military and civil helicopter operators globally. Utilizing its extensive design capabilities and government and military certifications, the company develops and executes repairs for any make and model of aircraft while extending the life of composite components. The company operates out of four facilities in the United States, Canada and Australia. Advances Composite Structures was purchased by United Aero Group in July 2022.

www.acs-composites.com