Who is buying machine shops?
18 named consolidator platforms are actively acquiring US machine shop businesses; 16 of them are private-equity-backed. The most recent named acquisition tracked on this page closed in September 2026.
Why machine shops are consolidating
- •There are 16,570 machine shop services businesses in the US in 2026, a count that has fallen 0.8% a year on average since 2021, in an industry with low market share concentration, according to IBISWorld.
- •The US machine shop services market is worth $47.5 billion in 2026, according to IBISWorld.
- •Precision manufacturing deal volume rose 19.6% year over year to 61 transactions in Q1 2026, and sponsor-backed deals rose 50% to 15, according to Capstone Partners.
- •Worldwide, precision manufacturing M&A reached 165 transactions in 2025, up from 158 in 2024; private equity firms were 34% of buyers and PE-backed portfolio companies another 8%, according to Oaklins.
- •Janes Capital Partners tracked 154 commercial aerospace deals through August 2026, just short of the annual record of 159 set in 2019, according to Reuters.
The platforms consolidating machine shops
The named groups acquiring US machine shop businesses, with their current owner and a source for each. Most grow through individual partnerships that are not separately disclosed; where a platform publishes named deals, recent ones are listed.
| Acquirer | Owner / backer | Type | Headquarters | Latest named deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novaria Group | Arcline Investment Management (definitive agreement to buy from KKR announced Nov 10, 2025) | Private equity | Fort Worth, TX | Jul 2025 |
| Precinmac | Centerbridge Partners | Private equity | South Paris, ME | Jul 2026 |
| BTX Precision | L Squared Capital Partners (single-asset continuation fund led by HarbourVest Partners, closed Apr 2026, with a new L Squared Fund IV commitment) | Private equity | Elk Grove Village, IL | Sep 2026 |
| Compass Precision | Main Street Capital Holdings, LLC | Private equity | Charlotte, NC | May 2026 |
| Threadlock Precision | The D. E. Shaw group | Private equity | New York, NY | Feb 2026 |
| PrecisionX Group | Windjammer Capital (bought from CORE Industrial Partners, Apr 2026) | Private equity | Waterbury, CT | Aug 2024 |
| RTC Aerospace | Stellex Capital Management | Private equity | Fife, WA | Jun 2026 |
| Alinabal Group | Akoya Capital (2022 buyout with Thayer Bancroft and PNC Mezzanine Capital) | Private equity | Milford, CT | Jul 2026 |
| Excelus Holdings | Sky Peak Capital | Private equity | Rochester, NY | May 2026 |
| Talon Precision | Private investors ($75 million of initial equity; no named sponsor) | Private equity | Milford, CT | Aug 2026 |
| PMGC Holdings | Publicly traded (Nasdaq: ELAB) | Strategic / public | Newport Beach, CA | May 2026 |
| GCM | Avista Healthcare Partners | Private equity | Union City, CA | Feb 2026 |
| Schneider Elite Machining Group | Schneider Resources Holding (family-owned private investment firm) | Private equity | Green Bay, WI | Sep 2026 |
| Avem Partners aerospace platform (FMI Aerostructures, PAMCO) | Avem Partners, with capital from True West Capital Partners and family offices | Private equity | Not disclosed | Apr 2026 |
| Tide Rock | Tide Rock (unlevered buyout firm) | Private equity | Solana Beach, CA | Oct 2025 |
| KKSP Precision Machining | Red Arts Capital | Private equity | Glendale Heights, IL | Aug 2024 |
| Prince Industries | HC Private Investments | Private equity | Carol Stream, IL | Sep 2024 |
| Lampin Corporation | Its employees (100% employee-owned) | Employee-owned (ESOP) | Uxbridge, MA | Jan 2025 |
Novaria Group
Private equity- Owner
- Arcline Investment Management (definitive agreement to buy from KKR announced Nov 10, 2025)
- Headquarters
- Fort Worth, TX
- Scale
- Over 1,600 employees across the U.S.; 13 add-on acquisitions since KKR invested in 2020
Arcline announced a definitive agreement in Nov 2025, but I found no closing announcement, so treat the owner as pending confirmation. Both add-ons listed were made under KKR. Novaria does more than machining: it also does coatings, hard chrome plating and other specialty processes.
Precinmac
Private equity- Owner
- Centerbridge Partners
- Headquarters
- South Paris, ME
- Scale
- Fifteen companies; over 535 CNC machines (Precinmac homepage)
Centerbridge invested in December 2024, per Precinmac's April 2026 release. Precision Aerospace Holdings came with five machining companies: Applegate EDM, Clearwater Engineering, Decatur Machine Services, Icon Machine and Owens Machine and Tool. The homepage's count of fifteen companies may not reflect the 2026 deals.
BTX Precision
Private equity- Owner
- L Squared Capital Partners (single-asset continuation fund led by HarbourVest Partners, closed Apr 2026, with a new L Squared Fund IV commitment)
- Headquarters
- Elk Grove Village, IL
- Scale
- Platform acquisition in 2023 plus ten subsequent acquisitions; more than 350 customers (L Squared, Apr 2026)
BTX's August 2025 release calls High Tech Solutions its seventh acquisition since 2023, while L Squared counts ten acquisitions after the 2023 platform deal; the counts are not reconciled. The HQ comes from Janes Capital (May 2026). Elk Grove Village is also ERA Industries' address on BTX's contact page.
Compass Precision
Private equity- Owner
- Main Street Capital Holdings, LLC
- Headquarters
- Charlotte, NC
- Scale
- 11 manufacturing facilities across the US
Main Street Capital Holdings' portfolio page lists Compass with status 'active'. Its release calls Accu-Tool Compass's eleventh operating division.
Threadlock Precision
Private equity- Owner
- The D. E. Shaw group
- Headquarters
- New York, NY
- Scale
- Three acquisitions as of Feb 2026
Threadlock's releases say only that it is 'backed by the D. E. Shaw group'. The HQ comes from Janes Capital (Feb 2026) and the St. Louis Business Journal, which calls it a New York aerospace holding company. I found no deals after Feb 2026.
PrecisionX Group
Private equity- Owner
- Windjammer Capital (bought from CORE Industrial Partners, Apr 2026)
- Headquarters
- Waterbury, CT
- Scale
- Seven facilities; approximately 400,000 square feet
Mainly a deep-draw and stamping business. MSK (Swiss and CNC machining) is the only machining add-on I found in the window. Its other add-ons are stamping businesses and are left out: National Manufacturing (2024), Ditron (2024) and Hudson Technologies (2025).
RTC Aerospace
Private equity- Owner
- Stellex Capital Management
- Headquarters
- Fife, WA
- Scale
- Operations in Chatsworth, CA; Simi Valley, CA; Rockford, MI; and Fife, WA, plus Automatic Products' Sumner, WA plant
The HQ comes from Janes Capital (Jan 2024); RTC's June 2026 release has a Seattle dateline. Automatic Products was RTC's largest acquisition and its third since joining Stellex in 2022.
Alinabal Group
Private equity- Owner
- Akoya Capital (2022 buyout with Thayer Bancroft and PNC Mezzanine Capital)
- Headquarters
- Milford, CT
- Scale
- Six manufacturing facilities across Connecticut, South Carolina, and Massachusetts
Medium confidence on the current owner. Akoya's own pages would not load. PNC Mezzanine's portfolio page still lists Alinabal, and Akoya called it a portfolio company in Aug 2024. The July 2026 release names no owner, and I found no sale. Alinabal also makes stamped and fabricated parts.
Excelus Holdings
Private equity- Owner
- Sky Peak Capital
- Headquarters
- Rochester, NY
- Scale
- More than 200,000 square feet of manufacturing space and over 200 employees
Formed in May 2026 by combining Excelus Manufacturing Solutions, D&G Machine Products and Millennium Precision. Rochester, NY is the HQ Janes Capital gives for Excelus Manufacturing Solutions; Sky Peak's release has a Boston dateline.
Talon Precision
Private equity- Owner
- Private investors ($75 million of initial equity; no named sponsor)
- Headquarters
- Milford, CT
- Scale
- Not disclosed
An independent-sponsor-style platform rather than a named PE fund. Its funding comes from 'a select group of business builders and long-term-oriented investors'. It announced its public launch in June 2026.
PMGC Holdings
Strategic / public- Owner
- Publicly traded (Nasdaq: ELAB)
- Headquarters
- Newport Beach, CA
- Scale
- A&B Aerospace (May 2026) was its 'fifth acquisition in the past twelve months'
A small, diversified public holding company that is running a roll-up of precision machining businesses. It bought Indarg through its subsidiary AGA. In June 2026 it signed a non-binding LOI for a 76% interest in a US precision machining company.
GCM
Private equity- Owner
- Avista Healthcare Partners
- Headquarters
- Union City, CA
- Scale
- Union City, CA headquarters plus facilities in Chicago, Atlanta and Wilmington, NC, and Kettmann's San Jose, CA plant
A MedTech-focused machining buyer, which partly offsets the dossier's aerospace lean. Precision Swiss Products was an asset purchase. GCM's 2026 release dates it to December 2024, but the PSP release itself is dated Jan 7, 2025.
Schneider Elite Machining Group
Private equity- Owner
- Schneider Resources Holding (family-owned private investment firm)
- Headquarters
- Green Bay, WI
- Scale
- Three Wisconsin companies: JR Machine (Shawano), ETW Precision Machining (Waukesha), Toolcraft Precision Machining (Germantown)
Backed by a family office: Schneider Resources Holding is a family-owned investment firm. It says it buys for 'generational ownership' rather than 'short-term resale'. Green Bay is the owner's HQ; the sources describe the machining group only as Wisconsin-based.
Avem Partners aerospace platform (FMI Aerostructures, PAMCO)
Private equity- Owner
- Avem Partners, with capital from True West Capital Partners and family offices
- Headquarters
- Not disclosed
- Scale
- Not disclosed
I found no single public brand for this platform. Avem bought FMI's assets out of Chapter 11 through a court-supervised Section 363 sale. FMI makes airframe and wing components; PAMCO makes source-controlled fittings. The PAMCO release has a Los Angeles dateline.
Tide Rock
Private equity- Owner
- Tide Rock (unlevered buyout firm)
- Headquarters
- Solana Beach, CA
- Scale
- Two precision machining platforms (Anaheim, CA and Buda, TX)
Tide Rock buys without debt and pays its investors a quarterly yield. It is a multi-industry acquirer with offices in Solana Beach, CA and New York, NY, and machining is one of its platforms.
KKSP Precision Machining
Private equity- Owner
- Red Arts Capital
- Headquarters
- Glendale Heights, IL
- Scale
- Five locations (IL, WI, MI, OH, and Mexico)
A high-volume screw-machine (turned parts) business. An Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund report dates the Hy-Production deal to Aug 2024, and Red Arts' Dec 2024 release presents it as part of the recapitalization. I found no later add-ons.
Prince Industries
Private equity- Owner
- HC Private Investments
- Headquarters
- Carol Stream, IL
- Scale
- Not disclosed
Does both precision machining and sheet metal fabrication. HCPI's news page dates the Keystone deal to Aug 2024, while the Airframer copy of the release is dated Sep 4, 2024. HCPI lists no Prince add-ons after 2024.
Lampin Corporation
Employee-owned (ESOP)- Owner
- Its employees (100% employee-owned)
- Headquarters
- Uxbridge, MA
- Scale
- Not disclosed
This is the only 2024-2026 acquisition I found. Lampin bought Monalex's assets and employees effective Jan 8, 2025, and Monalex's machinists became employee-owners through Lampin's ESOP.
Selling in your state?
What machine shop businesses sell for, who is buying, and how many there are, state by state.
Frequently asked
Who is buying machine shops in 2026?
Mostly private-equity-backed platforms. In 2026, BTX Precision (L Squared Capital Partners) added Arrow Engineering, Maitland Engineering, Aztalan Engineering and JCM Engineering. Precinmac (Centerbridge Partners) bought Precision Aerospace Holdings and Advance Mfg. Co. Compass Precision (Main Street Capital Holdings) bought Accu-Tool, and Threadlock Precision (D. E. Shaw group) bought Kremin and R&S Machining. Talon Precision and Excelus (Sky Peak Capital) are new platforms formed this year. Public PMGC Holdings has bought four California machine shops since July 2025.
Do buyers only want aerospace and defense shops?
No, although aerospace and defense shops get the most attention. Main Street Capital Holdings says Compass Precision serves aerospace and defense, medical, industrial, energy and telecommunication customers. BTX's Aztalan add-on serves medical, bioscience, robotic and energy markets, and PMGC's SVM Machining serves medical, aerospace, biotech and pharmaceutical, semiconductor and transportation customers. GCM, backed by Avista Healthcare Partners, buys MedTech machining shops; it bought Kettmann Machining of San Jose, CA in February 2026. Capstone Partners says precision manufacturers exposed to data centers, aerospace and defense, and medical devices have begun to outperform their peers.
Will a buyer keep my company's name, team and location?
Many acquirers say they will. BTX said Maitland Engineering would keep operating from its existing facilities under its existing leadership team, as a standalone business unit. Compass said Accu-Tool would keep operating from its Apex, NC facility with its leadership team and employees in place. Schneider Elite Machining Group kept Toolcraft in Germantown, WI, with its employees and its former owner as general manager. These are the acquirers' own statements at announcement.
How fragmented is the machine shop industry?
Very fragmented. IBISWorld counts 16,570 machine shop services businesses in the US in 2026, in a $47.5 billion market with low market share concentration.
Is machine shop M&A picking up?
Yes. Capstone Partners reports that precision manufacturing deal volume rose 19.6% year over year to 61 transactions in Q1 2026, with sponsor-backed deals up 50% to 15. Oaklins counted 165 precision manufacturing deals worldwide in 2025, up from 158 in 2024, with private equity firms making up 34% of buyers. Janes Capital Partners tracked 154 commercial aerospace deals through August 2026, close to the 2019 record of 159.
Are there buyers other than private equity?
Yes. Employee-owned Lampin Corporation bought Monalex Manufacturing of Douglas, MA in January 2025, and Monalex's machinists became employee-owners. Employee-owned Windings bought Machine Tool Engineering of Charles City, IA in August 2026. Family-owned Schneider Resources Holding is building a Wisconsin machining group for 'generational ownership'. Two public companies also buy: Pro-Dex closed its purchase of Advanced Precision Machining of Costa Mesa, CA in February 2026, and PMGC Holdings is buying small California shops.
Methodology & sources
The draft was compiled from Janes Capital Partners' monthly A&D manufacturing deal reports (January 2024 to August 2026), plus acquirer, sponsor and sell-side press releases and sponsor portfolio pages. On October 5, 2026 an adversarial pass re-read the primary source behind every platform, deal and statistic. That pass checked each platform's owner for a 2025-2026 sale, recapitalization or merger, and dropped or corrected anything a source did not support. It re-read eight of the Janes monthly reports (Jan-24, May-24, Dec-24, Jul-25, Dec-25, Feb-26, May-26, Aug-26), not all 32. Coverage leans toward aerospace and defense machining because Janes tracks only that sector. Searches added one medical-focused platform (GCM), but deals for medical, semiconductor and general industrial machine shops are still under-counted. The deal list is capped at 40.
Market sources
- IBISWorld, Machine Shop Services in the US: Number of Businesses (2026) ↗
- IBISWorld, Machine Shop Services in the US Industry Analysis (2026) ↗
- Capstone Partners, Precision Manufacturing Market Update (May 2026) ↗
- Oaklins, Precision Manufacturing Research Note (January 2026) ↗
- Reuters, 'Aerospace dealmaking gathers pace as jet production ramps up' (Sep 10, 2026) ↗
Last updated October 6, 2026. Platform ownership last verified October 6, 2026. Ownership in this sector changes frequently; figures reflect the most recent public sources available and are not investment, legal, or tax advice.
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