Acquisition in the UK Heat Treatment Market
Recently “The Monty Heat Treat News” has had several news items about the UK heat treatment market, unfortunately many of them have been rather depressing as they mention tales of closures and bankruptcies. However this item is more positive in that it announces the acquisition of a commercial heat treat facility, a facility which at one point boasted of having the first commercially available 10 bar vacuum furnace in the entire UK.
We start off this story with a profile of the company by “The Monty” which appeared on our site back in 2013, it is followed by the announcement of the acquisition and who the purchasing party is;
“MARCH 11, 2013; Lush Heat Treatment/UK. So is captive and commercial heat treating any different in the UK than anyplace else in the world? We all know the answer which is that heat treating around the world is pretty much the same everywhere you go. Just to make sure though we at “The Monty “are visiting several locations around the country this week and our first stop was at a commercial heat treater by the name of Lush Heat Treatment Ltd., Birchwood Industrial Estates, Hatfield, Herts, UK. http://lush-heat.co
What we saw was a medium sized commercial operation, family owned which was started back in 1952 and is currently run by George Lush son of the founder. While this company can provide batch carburizing, gas nitriding and vacuum heat treatment it is pretty plain the direction the company is going, vacuum heat treating for the aerospace industry. Lush was the first commercial operation in the UK to offer 10 bar quenching and in addition to this furnace and a few others has a fairly recent TAV bottom loading vacuum furnace with 6 bar nitrogen/argon quenching. In our opinion this is not a large company but very well organized, very clean and with technology and certification (such as Nadcap) which is surprising in a company of this size. In the photos below you see the TAC furnace and in front Mr. George Lush, Matt Cross (SSI UK) and Gord Montgomery.”
“MARCH 17 2026; BRATTLEBORO, Vt.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–G.S. Precision (“GSP” or the “Company”), a leading manufacturer of complex, highly engineered products used in mission critical aerospace, defense, and semiconductor systems, has completed two transactions that significantly expand the Company’s unique capabilities and provide for strategic platform expansion. The Company has acquired Lush Heat Treatment LTD (“Lush”) and the assets of Headwater Precision (“Headwater”).
“These acquisitions support our platform growth strategy and vision to be the most trusted global partner in precision manufacturing and assembly of highly engineered mission critical products, recognized for our commitment to innovation and quality,” said James R. Callan, Chief Executive Officer of GSP. “We welcome the addition of these distinctive capabilities, which include advanced coating and specialized heat treat technologies to enhance our customers’ success. Our acquisition process and partnership with AE Industrial brings an enhanced experience for family/founder companies; honoring their history, expert teams, and industry knowledge while leveraging our own unique family culture that emphasizes deep respect of those relationships.”
Founded in 1952 in Hatfield, United Kingdom, Lush is an industry leading provider of vacuum and endothermic processing and brazing services for the aviation space, nuclear and defense sectors. Lush will be integrated into GSP subsidiary F.T. Gearing Systems, a supplier of precision submicron gear systems to the aerospace and defense sector.
GSP has also acquired the assets of Headwater, which include high precision manufacturing assets, including state of the art robotics, laser, CNC, and advanced coating technologies.”
