Element acquires GEVA to strengthen aerospace testing

January 24, 2014 - Netherlands

Element Materials Technology announces the acquisition of GEVA (Gesellschaft für Entwicklung und Versuch Adlershof mbH), one of Germany’s leading aerospace testing companies which has been a subsidiary of KST Motorenversuch GmbH & Co KG.

With the purchase, GEVA’s world-class facility becomes Element’s first laboratory dedicated to aerospace testing in Europe, representing a significant milestone in the execution of the company’s strategic growth plan.

Originally founded in 1999 and based in Berlin, GEVA performs product qualification testing on metallic and composite structures through static, dynamic fatigue and structural strength examinations for Europe’s most high-profile Prime airframe and aero engine manufacturers.

Charles Noall, President and CEO of Element, says: “Germany is one of Europe’s strongest economies and the region’s aerospace market is in exceptional health, so we are excited to have completed this transaction, which puts our company at the heart of the Aerospace testing industry in Europe.”

“GEVA is a superb fit for Element; we have been aware of the outstanding quality of its work for some time, and consultation with our Prime partners served to confirm that their testing capabilities are held in the highest regard around the world. We were particularly interested in the laboratory’s innovative spin testing, where parts designed to rotate in aero engines are accelerated to high revolutions to determine failure points, a service that we have been keen to incorporate into our own offering.”

The acquisition follows a record year for Element, during which it acquired US composite specialists Delsen Testing Laboratories and one of the largest testing groups in the US, Sherry Laboratories, to become the largest independent materials testing company in the US and one of the fastest-growing in the world.  Geva represents Element’s sixth acquisition since 2011.

Noall concludes: “We have valuable integration experience with a number of recent high-quality acquisitions, so it will be very much ‘business as usual’ for all concerned. We envision a particularly close relationship between GEVA and our laboratory in Jupiter, FL, which currently services a number of European Primes. Both our existing customers and GEVA’s will benefit greatly from the sharing of knowledge, methodologies and expertise between the two facilities, and indeed the wider Element platform.”                          

About Element:

Element is a company with a global presence; its laboratories are staffed by experts specializing in materials testing, product qualification testing and failure analysis for the Aerospace & Defense, Oil & Gas, Power Generation, and Transportation sectors. Element’s team of 1,450 scientists, engineers and technicians work in 41 laboratories located throughout the U.S. and Europe.