Midwest Aerospace & Defense Precision Machining

$5.7M

Revenue

$1.1M

SDE

5.3x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

An established precision machining and custom tooling operation in Michigan is now available for acquisition. The company specializes in complex, high-tolerance manufacturing work for demanding end... Businesses Franchises Brokers Loading... Midwest Aerospace & Defense Machining Company — Skilled Team in Place Macomb County, MI Asking Price:$5,920,000 Cash Flow (SDE):$1,115,000 EBITDA:Not Disclosed Gross Revenue:$5,735,000 Established:Not Disclosed Midwest Aerospace & Defense Machining Company — Skilled Team in Place Business Description Custom Tooling and Machining Platform Serving U.S. Buyers An established precision machining and custom tooling operation in Michigan is now available for acquisition. The company specializes in complex, high-tolerance manufacturing work for demanding end markets including aerospace, military, defense, and naval applications, along with select advanced industrial clients. Operating from multiple climate-controlled Midwest facilities, the business is well-equipped with a deep inventory of specialized machinery and holds relevant quality certifications that support its positioning in regulated industries. The service mix spans a broad range of capabilities — including specialty machining, custom tool fabrication, mold base construction, waterjet cutting, gun drilling, and grinding — complemented by assembly services. Work is predominantly custom and project-driven, meaning the job mix evolves over time rather than relying on a narrow set of repeating contracts. Over 80 customers were served in a recent operating year, and no single account dominates the revenue base, which provides meaningful diversification. New business arrives through multiple channels including direct sales outreach, referrals, and organic online discovery. Day-to-day operations are managed by a seasoned on-site leadership team that includes a general manager, project management staff, engineering personnel, and experienced shop employees. The current owners operate in a limited oversight capacity from a remote location, focusing on financial review, strategic direction, and administrative support. Multi-shift scheduling is deployed during peak demand periods. The workforce is long-tenured and familiar with the technical demands of the business's core markets. A new owner can step in with confidence that operational continuity is already in place. The company has demonstrated strategic adaptability over its history, having pivoted away from lower-margin legacy work toward higher-value aerospace and defense machining — a shift that improved both top-line performance and profitability. Revenue reflects the project-based nature of the work and can fluctuate year to year, but the customer base is broad and growing. A buyer with additional resources could pursue meaningful upside through expanded sales coverage, deeper relationships in defense and aerospace, new equipment investments, additional compliance credentials, and potential facility growth. Strategic acquirers may also find cross-selling opportunities within their existing customer networks. The owners are retiring and have expressed a commitment to a thorough and orderly transition. The existing management team is aware of the sale and is supportive of the process. A transition period of approximately six months is anticipated, with active seller involvement during that window to ensure continuity for customers and employees alike. This is a compelling opportunity for an operator, strategic buyer, or private equity group seeking a capable, scalable platform in the defense and aerospace supply chain. Ad#:2519471 Detailed Information Employees: 36 (32 Full-time, 3 Part-time, 1 Contractors) Business Location Location: Macomb County, MI Real Estate: Leased Financial Benchmarks for Michigan Auto, Boat and Aircraft Manufacturers Gross Revenue Benchmarks Cash Flow (SDE) Benchmarks EBITDA Benchmarks BizBuySell EDGE Demographic Information for Macomb County Area Household Income Population Age Population Trend Population by Race/Ethnicity BizBuySell EDGE Listing Statistics Saved This Listing Listing Last Updated Appeared in Search Listing Detail Views BizBuySell EDGE Know the True Market Value Before You Make an Offer Get valuation data to negotiate with confidence. Get a Valuation Report Business Listed By: Dominique Ashford Phone Number 231-636-3515 Voice only (no SMS) Ad#:2519471 The information in this listing has been provided by the business seller or representative stated above. BizBuySell has no stake in the sale of this business, has not independently verified any of the information about the business, and assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness. Read BizBuySell's Terms of Use before responding to any ad. Learn how to avoid scams. Contact Form Full Name* Enter a valid Full Name Phone Number Enter Phone Number Email Address* Enter Email Address Optional Message Yes, send me the Buyer Newsletter for popular businesses, tips, & email promotions. Show sellers you’re serious - learn about BizBuySell Edge for premium buyer tools & alerts Send Message By clicking the button, you agree to BizBuySell’s Terms of Use and Privacy Notice Business Listed By: Dominique Ashford Phone Number 231-636-3515 Your request has been sent. What Happens Next? is reviewing your details. A representative will reach out soon to discuss your options. Expect a response in 1-2 business days. Report an issue with this listing Similar Listings Auto, Boat and Aircraft Manufacturers for Sale All Businesses for Sale in Macomb County B2B Manufacturing Business – Industrial Furnaces Washtenaw County, MI Asking: $8,500,000 Asset-Heavy Industrial Tooling Business – High EBITDA & SDE MI Asking: $8,000,000 Metro Detroit - Confidential Equipment Rental Company MI Asking: $7,499,999 Team Up Athletics Franchise Opportunity In MI Cash Required: $25,000 Â©2026 CoStar Group Send Message Listing Shared via Email Buy a Business Search for a Business Established Businesses Asset Sales How to Buy a Business Buy a Franchise Search Franchises For Sale Low Cost Franchises Restaurant and Food Franchises Business Opportunities Retail Franchises Sell a Business Sell a Business on BizBuySell Sell Multiple Businesses How to Sell a Business Value a Business Find a Broker Tools & Advice Learning Center Finance Center Market Insights Financial Benchmarks Business for Sale Blog Business Brokers Find a Broker For Brokers My BizBuySell Dashboard My Business Selling My Listings Guide to Selling Add a New Listing Searching My Saved Listings My Saved Searches Franchise Recommendations BizBuySell Edge Edge Preferences Recommendations Industry Benchmarks Location Insights BizBuySell Edge Edge Preferences Recommendations Industry Benchmarks Location Insights Research Guide to Buying Reports Message Center My Mailbox My Inquiries Email Preferences Export Leads Account Account Settings My Billing Info BrokerWorks My BizBuySell Dashboard Leads Billing My Saved Listings My Saved Searches Account Sign Out Sign In a6301374279843840.cdn.optimizely.com a6301374279843840.cdn.optimizely.com is blocked This page has been blocked by an extension Try disabling your extensions. 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Why we like it

Earnings quality is strong for a job shop, with $1.115M SDE on $5.735M revenue, a 19.4 percent margin driven by the shift into high-tolerance aerospace and defense work. The customer base of 80-plus accounts with no single dominant customer means the earnings are not hostage to one contract renewal, which is rare and valuable in custom manufacturing.
The moat is real and underappreciated. Quality certifications for regulated aerospace, military, and naval work create qualification barriers that keep competitors out and make you a sticky, pre-vetted supplier once you are in. Combined with a long-tenured technical workforce and specialized machinery, a new customer cannot simply swap you out cheaply.
Defense and aerospace spending is a durable, non-discretionary tailwind that holds up through recessions and geopolitical cycles. Naval and military applications in particular ride multi-year procurement budgets rather than consumer sentiment, so demand for high-tolerance parts does not evaporate when the economy turns.
This is a platform, not a personality. Day-to-day operations already run through a general manager, project managers, and engineers, with the retiring owners sitting remote in a limited oversight role. A strategic buyer or PE group can absorb this without needing to be a machinist, and cross-selling into an existing defense network is immediate upside.

How to improve it

Build a dedicated sales function focused on named defense and aerospace primes and tier-one suppliers. Right now new business arrives through referrals and organic discovery, meaning there is no systematic outbound engine. Hiring one experienced defense BD rep to work existing certifications into new programs could meaningfully raise the backlog within a year.
Pursue additional compliance credentials such as AS9100, ITAR registration if not already held, and NADCAP accreditation for specialty processes. Each new certification unlocks a wider set of qualified opportunities and higher-margin work, and the cost is modest relative to the revenue it can gate access to.
Attack revenue lumpiness by converting more custom project work into blanket purchase orders and multi-year supply agreements. Project-based revenue fluctuates year to year, so locking in repeat volume with your best 10 to 15 accounts smooths cash flow and makes the business worth a higher multiple at resale.
Invest in additional CNC and specialty equipment to expand throughput during peak demand and reduce reliance on multi-shift scheduling as the only capacity lever. Targeted capex on machines with clear payback under 24 months adds capacity and lets you bid larger contracts you currently have to pass on.
Formalize a workforce retention and apprenticeship pipeline given the reliance on a long-tenured, hard-to-replace technical team. Skilled machinist attrition is the single biggest operational risk in this business, so lock in key staff with retention agreements at close and start training the next cohort immediately.
Implement shop-floor data and job-costing systems to identify which jobs and customers actually earn the margin. Custom job shops routinely subsidize unprofitable work without knowing it, and better costing lets you reprice or fire the bottom decile of jobs to lift blended margin.

Diligence notes

Verify the SDE bridge and normalize owner add-backs, since the owners run remotely with limited involvement. Confirm whether the $1.115M SDE already reflects the cost of the general manager and full management team, because if the owners are truly hands-off, reported SDE and true EBITDA may be closer than typical and the 5.31x multiple should be judged on that basis.
Scrutinize revenue concentration and durability behind the 80-plus customer claim. Pull a multi-year customer revenue table to confirm no account is 15 percent or more, and examine whether the diversification masks a few large lumpy projects that inflated a single recent year.
Confirm the exact quality certifications held and their transferability, since these are the core moat. Check expiration dates, audit history, and whether ITAR or defense contract eligibility survives a change of ownership, because a lapse or non-transfer could gut the qualified customer base overnight.
Assess the true value and condition of the specialized machinery, since this is an equipment-heavy sale. Get an independent appraisal of the machine inventory, review maintenance logs and remaining useful life, and quantify near-term replacement capex that a buyer will actually have to fund.
Review the facility leases carefully given the business operates from multiple leased, climate-controlled sites. Confirm lease terms, renewal options, rent escalation, and any landlord relationship to the sellers, because a below-market related-party lease could inflate current profitability.
Stress-test the aerospace and defense pivot narrative against actual program timelines. Understand which contracts are firm versus expected, backlog visibility, and how revenue would behave in a defense budget slowdown, so you are not paying for a peak-cycle earnings snapshot.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →