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Engineering group MB Aerospace has bought US-based aero-engine component maker Norbert Industries as part of a drive to expand its business.

The multi-million dollar deal gives the Motherwell-based company control of new operations in Michigan, USA, and Rzeszow, Poland.

The move takes the group's headcount to almost 900.

Norbert's Polish business adds 230 staff to MB Aerospace's existing 170 employees in Europe.

MB Aerospace chief executive officer Craig Gallagher said: "With its well-invested manufacturing facilities and deep customer relationships in North America, alongside its highly developed engineering resources in Poland, the Norbert business is an opportunity of vast potential to support the growth ambitions for MB Aerospace as a whole.

"Not only are we acquiring two highly-performing operations which possess attractive manufacturing capabilities and customer-service led management teams but we are also securing significant additional engineering and manufacturing capacity.

'Capability footprint'

He added: "The Norbert acquisition is a further part of our strategy to progressively widen MB Aerospace's capability footprint to address the critical service needs of our aero-engine customers.

"Historically, a typical aero-engine would have more than 400 unique suppliers; on the current and future generations of aero-engines this will be reduced to around 100 with tier one suppliers required to operate across a range of capabilities to serve their customers."

Last year MB Aerospace acquired US-based Delta Industries a few months after US private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners bought a majority stake in the Motherwell firm.

The company, which specialises in machined and fabricated components for global aerospace and defence manufacturers, announced at the time it would embark on a series of acquisitions as part of an expansion drive.

MB Aerospace's key customers include Pratt and Whitney, Rolls-Royce, General Electric, Boeing, United Technologies and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.