Greensboro aviation firm is now part of AAR after a $35 million deal

AAR Corporation, the parent company of HAECO Americas, said Friday it has completed a $35 million cash purchase of another Greensboro company: Aircraft Reconfig Technologies.

The manufacturer, based in Wood Dale, Illinois, provides aviation services, including parts and repairs, to commercial, state and federal government customers.

AAR announced in December its plans to acquire Aircraft Reconfig Technologies, which operates at 8010 Piedmont Triad Parkway. Aircraft Reconfig Technologies has about 100 full-time employees. The deal was projected to close by June 30.

Aircraft Reconfig specializes in passenger aircraft reconfiguration for global airlines, including Air India, Air New Zealand, Alaska, American, Iberia, Sun Country and Swiss. It also offers project management, engineering and certification for aircraft interior reconfigurations.

AAR said the purchase of Aircraft Reconfig from ZIM Aircraft Cabin Solutions would expand AAR's engineering and certification capabilities in its repair and engineering segment

The deal, AAR said, would allow it "to further differentiate itself as the leading independent maintenance, repair and overhaul provider in North America."

AAR reported in March that it had $68 million in net income for its third quarter of fiscal 2026. By comparison, AAR had an $8.9 million loss a year ago.

The third-quarter sales include revenue from HAECO, a longtime Piedmont Triad International Airport anchor that AAR purchased for $78 million on Nov. 3.

Overall sales jumped 24.6% to $845.1 million, of which $392.5 million came from parts supplies.

"Regarding acquisitions, the execution of our integration and performance improvement plan for HAECO Americas is progressing well and is ahead of schedule," John Holmes, AAR's chairman, president and chief executive, said in March.

AAR's projections for fourth-quarter sales growth are 19% to 21%.

The HAECO Americas purchase was part of a fiscal 2026 commitment to "expand both our capabilities and footprint in Repair & Engineering," Holmes said.

The merger combines the nation's two largest heavy aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul companies, with AAR gaining a combined workforce of 1,600 at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro and in Lake City, Fla.

HAECO Americas focuses primarily on commercial passenger aircraft with American and Southwest airlines among its customers. HAECO also installs and maintains interior cabin equipment.

HAECO Americas operations are now part of AAR's Airframe MRO network within its Repair & Engineering segment. The HAECO Americas facilities will operate under AAR branding.

However, AAR said in a December statement that "prior to AAR's acquisition of HAECO Americas, four maintenance lines were scaled back at the facilities."

"To right-size the workforce for the current workload, we made the difficult decision to separate some employees and contractors from the company."

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