Facts
■ Operating division of Meggitt PLC, based in England.
■ Headquartered in Akron, where it also has manufacturing operations. Also has facilities in Kentucky; Coventry, England; and Queretaro, Mexico.
■ A total of 1,200 employees, including roughly 500 hourly and salaried workers in Akron.
■ Has products on more than 30,000 aircraft worldwide.
History: Roots in Goodyear Aircraft, which was renamed Goodyear Aerospace in 1963. In 1987, Goodyear Aerospace Corp. was sold to New York-based Loral Corp. to help pay off debt incurred to fight off a hostile takeover of parent Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. In 1989, Loral sold Aircraft Braking Systems to a private investor group in White Plains, N.Y., called K&F Industries. In 2004, Aurora Capital Group, a Los Angeles investment group, bought K&F Industries. In 2007, K&F Industries said it would be acquired for $1.8 billion by Meggitt PLC, a British-based aircraft company.
