| | History of GKN Aerospace - Bandy Machining
GKN Aerospace Bandy Machining, Inc. was founded in 1953 by the former Lockheed engineer G.W. Bandy. Known initially as G.W. Bandy, Bandy began business doing tool and die work and hinges for neighboring Lockheed Aircraft. Bandy was soon involved with many of the pioneers of the modern aerospace community, including Don Douglas of Douglas Aircraft, Fred Rohr of Rohr Aerospace, and Jack Northrop of Northrop. Many of the original aircraft designed by these companies sported hinges designed by Bandy. Early on, G.W. Bandy developed its own specialized manufacturing equipment, enabling a highly accurate and uniform manufacturing process. This Bandy-designed equipment has proven so successful that it is still used today. Bandy was one of the first aircraft component manufacturers to convert to CNC equipment, allowing the production of very complex hinge configurations, in high volume, and from a wide range of exotic materials such as titanium and tungsten. Bandy expanded from a one building to the current three building, 55,000 square foot facility in Burbank, California. G.W. Bandy retired from the business in 1976, to be succeeded first by his son and then his grandson as President of the company. In 1990, G.W. Bandy was sold to Kleinert Industries. In the 1980's Bandy began looking beyond hinges into the world of precision-machined components. In 1995, the company was renamed Bandy Machining International to reflect this change. While almost everyone knew that Bandy made hinges, only a few associated the name Bandy with the access panel, door assemblies and custom machined parts that the company had made for years. The word "Bandy" was retained to reflect the company's reputation for high quality aircraft and aerospace products. Machining was selected to replace "Hinge" as it more accurately describes the actual machining services offered. International was added to reflect the over 700 customers that Bandy serves worldwide. Bandy continued to grow its precision machining capabilities while maintaining its high volume throughout the 90s. In 1997, Bandy Machining International was purchased by Stellex Aerospace. The company has continued adding to its machining capability by bringing it new 3-, 4-, and 5-axis machining capability. Now Bandy has changed its name again to GKN Aerospace Bandy Machining, Inc. Stellex Bandy Machining along with its sister companies Stellex Monitor Aerospace, Inc in Amityville, New York and Stellex Precision Machining, Inc in Wellington Kansas were purchased by GKN Aerospace 9/14/2006. |
