CAE to acquire TRU Canada
CAE announces that it has entered into an agreement with Textron to acquire the Canadian entities of TRU, namely TRU simulation and Training Canada. CAE to pay Textron $ 40 million; the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
TRU’s facility in Montreal only manufactures simulators for civil aviation. Goose Creek, South Carolina, is where TRU’s head offices are located and where the military simulators are assembled. The Tampa, Florida division is for general aviation and training. TRU supplied Boeing with its first B737MAX simulator as well as that of the B777-9. Last June, Textron announced the closure of TRU in Montreal.
TRU’s Montreal facilities date back to the founding of Mechtronix in 1987: the five founders were all recent graduates of Concordia University. They had succeeded in their study project, which was to integrate the use of microprocessors into the manufacture of flight simulators. Mechtronix has often explored markets other than CAE including general aviation. It was in 2013 that Textron acquired Mechtronix for integration into TRU Simulation.
A good acquisition
If the transaction is approved, CAE will take over more than TRU’s simulator manufacturing contracts. TRU’s research and development team in Montreal had achieved a feat by developing a CL-415 simulator. This is the only CL-415 Level D simulator and the only seaplane simulator. Talent and innovation are the raw materials of CAE and that is what it has just acquired. The two companies are barely a kilometer apart and integration should proceed quickly. This is CAE’s second acquisition in less than two weeks and it still has strong cash flow.
Since TRU was to close its plant in Montreal, this acquisition will undoubtedly help to recover jobs. We can therefore say that this is good news for the Montreal region and its aerospace industry.
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