GF Machining Solutions, a division of GF, is to acquire Liechti Engineering AG, Langnau/BE (Switzerland). The company is the leading specialist of 5-axis milling machines designed to produce blades and blisks for aircraft engines and power generating turbines.
With more than 10 000 planes in the order books, aircraft production is planned to stay strong for the foreseeable future and so is the demand for engine parts. The acquisition of Liechti Engineering AG will allow GF Machining Solutions to significantly strengthen its presence in this promising market sector.

Both companies can look back to a successful cooperation over the last ten years, with GF Machining Solutions acting as a supplier for Liechti. Their competences and product ranges are also highly complementary. The current management under Ralph Liechti will remain in place and the company continues to operate out of its present premises in Langnau/BE. The two parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price and further details of the transaction.

“Liechti Engineering AG brings a wealth of know-how and a well-established reputation for high performance and superior service for its customers”, comments Yves Serra, CEO of GF. “Together, the two companies offer a wide array of technologies for the production of aircraft engine parts as well as a worldwide sales and service organization to support its customers”.

“All of us are proud to become a part of GF Machining Solutions, and I am sure to have found the right partner to continue with our business”, says Ralph Liechti. “We are excited about the idea of combining our know-how with GF Machining Solutions to serve our customers in the aerospace and energy sectors with an even wider range of products and services”.

Liechti Engineering AG is a family-owned company with a yearly turnover exceeding CHF 50 million. It employs 120 people worldwide. Its customer base includes all significant names of the aircraft and power generating industries.

Liechti Engineering AG is the leading specialist of 5-axis milling machines

GF comprises three divisions GF Piping Systems, GF Automotive, and GF Machining Solutions. Founded in 1802, the Corporation is headquartered in Switzerland and is present in 32 countries, with 124 companies, 48 of them production facilities. Its approximately 14 000 employees generated sales of CHF 3.77 billion in 2013. GF is the preferred partner of its customers for the safe transport of liquids and gases, lightweight casting components in vehicles, and high-precision manufacturing technologies.