Aerospace CNC Machining Shop, Nadcap & AS9100D Certified, Orange County CA

$1.7M

Revenue

$1.1M

SDE

4.5x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a precision CNC machining shop in Orange County, California that has been cutting close-tolerance parts for the aerospace and defense supply chain for over 20 years. The company specializes in custom hydraulic fittings, ring-lock fittings, and AS/MS specification fluid fittings, holding tolerances down to plus or minus 0.0005 inch. It runs roughly 24 CNC machines across 4,500 square feet, with a modern equipment base that includes Takisawa lathes, Brother machining centers, Mori Seiki and OKK milling equipment, and Hardinge precision machinery, roughly $982k of it recorded on the books.

The real asset here is not the metal, it is the paperwork. The company carries AS9100 Rev. D and ISO 9001:2015 certifications plus Nadcap accreditation for Fluid Distribution Systems. In aerospace, those approvals plus a documented qualification history with named customers are what keep new entrants out and let this shop bid on quality-critical contracts. Its largest customer relationship spans 20 years, and the workforce of seven full-timers is unusually stable, with the newest employee already past two years of tenure.

The business runs a customer-furnished-material model, meaning clients supply the raw stock and the shop sells machine time and expertise. That structure strips out working capital drag and commodity price risk, making job margins more predictable. On roughly $1.74M of annualized revenue the shop throws off about $1.08M of SDE, a fat margin that reflects both the certification moat and an owner who wears many hats. Management reports turning away orders because of capacity, so demand appears to outrun current single-shift output.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is strong for a shop this size, with roughly $1.08M annualized SDE on $1.74M of revenue, a margin north of 60 percent. The customer-furnished-material model removes commodity exposure and working capital strain, so the SDE is cleaner and more predictable than a typical machine shop that eats raw material risk.
The moat is real and hard to replicate. Nadcap accreditation for Fluid Distribution Systems plus AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015 take years and audited process discipline to earn, and each aerospace customer separately qualifies suppliers. A 20-year relationship with the largest client is evidence those switching costs are working in the seller's favor.
Aerospace and defense demand is durable and largely non-discretionary, driven by build rates, MRO cycles, and defense budgets rather than consumer sentiment. Fluid fittings are replacement-critical components on aircraft, which means volume holds up even when the broader economy softens.
There is a clear operator lever on day one: management says it is declining orders due to capacity. Adding a second shift could lift scheduled coverage from 58.5 to roughly 78.5 hours per week, a 34 percent gain, without an immediate matching outlay for new machines since the 24-machine platform is already installed.

How to improve it

Stand up a second shift to capture the demand the shop is currently turning away. This is the single highest-return move, since the equipment is already paid for and the constraint is labor and supervision, not capital. Prioritize recruiting machinists and a dedicated QC/inspector before ramping volume.
Tighten quoting and job-costing discipline. The owner currently handles quoting personally, so build a repeatable costing model that captures machine time, setup, inspection, and margin targets. Better pricing rigor on high-mix fitting work can add points of margin without winning a single new customer.
Diversify the customer base to reduce reliance on the 20-year top client. Use the existing certifications and qualification history to pursue additional approved-customer programs and defense primes, spreading concentration risk while filling the new second-shift capacity.
Document and delegate the owner's responsibilities immediately. The seller handles customer relationships, purchasing, scheduling, quoting, and production supervision, so map each function to a hire or existing employee within the first 90 days to protect certification continuity and avoid a key-man cliff.
Formalize repeat-order arrangements with core customers via blanket purchase orders or long-term agreements. Converting recurring fitting demand into scheduled releases would smooth production, improve forecasting, and move the revenue profile closer to contracted rather than transactional.
Invest in a production management and scheduling system. Adding basic ERP or shop-floor tracking would improve throughput visibility, reduce reliance on the owner's institutional memory, and support the second-shift expansion without chaos.
Lock down the facility and lease before close. The lease runs only to October 2029 in a small 4,500 square foot footprint across four suites, so negotiate renewal options and evaluate whether a larger space is needed to house both shifts and future machine additions.

Diligence notes

Verify the financials carefully, since the SDE figure is annualized off first-half 2026 results ($868k revenue, $539k normalized SDE) rather than a full audited year. Confirm the normalization adjustments, reconcile to tax returns for 2023 through 2025, and validate the stated revenue growth from $1.45M to $1.62M.
Scrutinize customer concentration. The largest client is a 20-year relationship but its share of revenue is not disclosed, and losing a single major aerospace customer would materially impair the business. Request a revenue-by-customer breakdown and understand the qualification status the buyer inherits.
Confirm certification continuity through a change of ownership. Nadcap accreditation and AS9100D approvals plus each customer's supplier qualification may require re-audit or re-approval when ownership transfers, so understand the process, timeline, and any risk to active contracts.
Assess key-man risk given only seven employees and an owner deeply embedded in commercial and operational roles. Four weeks of 20-hour transition support is thin for a business this dependent on the seller, so negotiate a longer paid consulting arrangement and a detailed responsibility-transfer plan.
Review the lease assignment and renewal rights. The lease expires October 2029 with landlord approval required for assignment, and any second-shift or expansion plan hinges on securing the facility, so confirm assignability and renewal terms during diligence.
Inspect the equipment condition and remaining useful life. The listing cites $982k in recorded equipment value across roughly 24 machines installed 2021 to 2025, so verify actual ownership free of liens, maintenance history, and whether any leased or financed equipment carries obligations that survive the sale.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →