Beehive Industries has acquired two Ohio machine shops as it ramps up production of its 3D-printed jet engines for defense applications.
The US propulsion company announced it acquired the assets of Able Tool Corporation and its subsidiary Planet Products Corporation as its Frenzy jet engine enters full-rate manufacturing.
The facilities will become Beehive’s Production Machining Center of Excellence, while its existing site in Knoxville, Tennessee, will serve as the Production Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence.
Together, the two sites are expected to support annual output of more than 8,000 engines, combining metal 3D printing, machining, and post-processing under a manufacturing network focused on defense propulsion.
“This acquisition gives us immediate precision machining capability, proven talent, and the operational experience to scale with confidence, at the speed the modern warfighter demands,” Beehive CEO Darius Ehteshami said.
US Expands 3D Printing Manufacturing
Beehive’s latest investment reflects a broader push by US manufacturers to expand domestic additive manufacturing capacity as demand grows across the defense, aerospace, and industrial sectors.
In June, Beehive itself announced a more than $50-million investment in EOS systems to expand production of its 3D-printed jet engines, adding 30 metal additive manufacturing machines across its Colorado and Tennessee facilities.
Earlier, in April, Stratasys joined the US Department of Defense’s Joint Additive Manufacturing Acceptability IV Pilot Parts Program to help validate 3D-printed components for military platforms and streamline certification.
The same month, GKN Aerospace and the US Air Force Research Laboratory launched an $8.4-million initiative to scale titanium-based additive manufacturing for large aerospace structures.
