Juniper Capital Management and CIC Partners Announce the Formation of Precision Aerospace Holdings, LLC

(August 19, 2022)

DALLAS – CIC Partners (CIC) and Juniper Capital Management (Juniper), two Dallas-based private investment firms, partnered to form a new platform, Precision Aerospace Holdings (Precision Aerospace) engaged in the manufacturing and machining of complex components for critical space, aerospace and defense programs. Precision Aerospace recently acquired two separate operating companies – Applegate EDM, LLC (Applegate) and Icon Machine Co. (Icon) – uniting them under the Precision Aerospace platform.

Applegate is a leading provider of electrical discharge machining (EDM) value-added services with a core focus on complex geometry on specialty and exotic metals. Founded in 1993, Applegate has a highly experienced talent base that is second to none. Currently, Applegate operates out of a 30,000-square-foot facility in Dallas.

Icon is a leader in precision machining and manufacturing, specializing in critical, tight-tolerance parts and components with an emphasis on small and difficult geometries for leading aerospace and defense contractors. Icon was founded by three industry veterans in 1999 and currently operates out of a 20,000-square-foot facility in Irving, Texas.

The Precision Aerospace platform is led by CEO and industry veteran Pete Stegmaier who, together with key leaders of both Applegate and Icon, will drive the growth and transformation of the company. Stegmaier started his career as a helicopter pilot for the U.S. Army and deployed twice to combat. He then earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin before joining Eaton Aerospace (NYSE: ETN) where he honed his skills in leadership roles across operations, marketing, sales and general management.

“Both Applegate and Icon have developed a best-in-class reputation for precision machining and EDM services by consistently meeting difficult quality and delivery standards on challenging and complex metals,” Stegmaier said. “Combining Applegate and Icon under the Precision Aerospace umbrella will make the whole even greater than the individual parts.”

“Pete’s industry experience and leadership capabilities position the company for strong organic and acquisitive growth to further support our customers and their key programs,” said Bryan Grabowsky, Juniper’s co-founding partner.

“We expect these initial acquisitions to be the first of many as Precision Aerospace develops its robust defense and aerospace platform,” added Bayard Friedman, managing director with CIC Partners. “We look forward to leveraging the capabilities of these two complex manufacturing businesses to develop the highly sophisticated parts required by leading space, aerospace and defense contractors.”

CIC and Juniper served as co-investment partners providing the equity to complete the recapitalization of Applegate and Icon, and collaborated closely to form a Board of Directors with significant sector expertise to further support the organic and inorganic growth strategies of the new platform. Precision Aerospace represents the ninth portfolio acquisition for Juniper under four distinct investment platforms. CIC Partners’ investment comes from its fifth investment fund and represents a continuation of the firm’s strategy, having invested in more than 50 portfolio companies with over $2 billion in total transaction value.