Ranger Aerospace, a private equity consolidator and management holding company specializing in aerospace operations and aviation services deals since 1997, marks its 25th anniversary since inception this year. During September, Ranger is hosting a business reception called "A Celebration About People" to highlight the 25 years milestone. Ranger has built several separate platform companies to over $100 million revenues each thus far in its colorful 25-year history and has managed as many as 4,250 personnel at 56 airports. Ranger adds value by bringing accomplished leaders to bear on deep operational improvements and aggressive accelerated growth. Ranger focuses heavily on operations, marketing, quality, and people, with a principled "Good to Great" incremental approach to business transformations.
Ranger's latest holdings are ACL Airshop, which provides air cargo products and services to airlines clients at more than half of the world's Top 50 cargo airports, and InTech Aerospace, which performs MRO and retrofit services on commercial airliner interiors. The pivotal investment in ACL Airshop won the Deal of the Year award for 2016 from M&A Advisor magazine, an international financial publication. In earlier aviation ventures, Ranger Aerospace won similar awards for Deal of the Year in 2009, and Deal of the Decade in 2011 (for the decade ending 2010). Ranger's divestiture of Ranger International Services Group won 3 Deal of the Year awards in 2012 for the sale of that aerospace/defense technical services company to a major international engineering firm.
This 25th anniversary commemorates Ranger's long history of laser-focused growth in the aerospace management & investment field. Since its inception in March 1997, Ranger's previous large-scale multi-year and multi-acquisition successes have included ASIG, Keystone Helicopter, Skytanking GmbH, Composite Technology Inc., Ranger Rotorcraft Group, Ranger International Services Group, the Keystone HeliPlex, plus related joint ventures and internal build-ups under Ranger's quality-centered leadership. A total of 19 companies have been assembled within the several successive growth umbrellas, including acquisitions and self-grown startup subsidiaries. Thus far, only ACL Airshop has been pure organic growth in the past 6 years (no acquisitions—at least not yet). Each scalable middle-market platform with a successful "Exit" was sold either to huge strategic buyers or large financial buyers, who then kept growing the businesses. Noteworthy facilities expansions under Ranger have included the very large "HeliPlex" near Philadelphia, and the iconic new air cargo products factory in Greenville, South Carolina.
Steve Townes, Ranger Aerospace founder and president/CEO of ACL Airshop, said: "We have exceeded our goals once again in our newest company, ACL Airshop. With exceptional teams of professionals in all regions, we have more than doubled our operational footprint to 55 airport hubs on six continents as of today, with more planned. We have more than tripled our worldwide fleet of air cargo ULDs ('unit load devices') to nearly 70,000 assets and still growing. We have invested heavily in award-winning innovative new technologies such as Bluetooth tracking and 'FindMyULD,' in various Lean initiatives, and in facilities expansions. Most importantly, we have invested steadily in our people, improving pay scales, operational disciplines, bonus plans, benefits, and management training." Townes added: "Our unprecedented internal investments in growth and in people initiatives have resulted in a robust value-creation arc. Our customer surveys say that we are doing a lot of things very well. Customers highly value our speed of responsiveness, huge lease-ready availability of ULD inventory, and steadily expanding network of hubs. We dominate short-term solutions, while also growing a strong portfolio of long-term multi-year fleet management contracts. Our business model combined with our truly High-Performance Culture are hard to replicate."
Ranger Aerospace has been the management stewardship team for over $600 million in various buying, selling, and investing transactions over the past 25 years. Investment returns in each of Ranger's successful large-scale divestitures have been superior for the sector, with "IRR" for first-round equity on its strongest exit slightly over 60%, plus commensurate cash-on-cash multiples.
Townes said: "Our excellent results, value creation trajectory, and sustained performance are due to outstanding teams of people. We manage for Quality—Safety—FAA Compliance, and we have always strived to be a positive, caring employer for motivated aviation professionals with the Right Stuff. People are the priceless soul of any successful enterprise, and we are proving that every day."
Ranger has created several thousand new jobs over the past 25 years by creatively expanding the middle-market enterprises it has owned and operated.
