Meggitt Thermal Systems, headquartered in Simi Valley, California, was created in 2005 to bring customers the benefits of five complementary Meggitt group facilities.
Meggitt Thermal Systems – Simi Valley
Our Simi Valley facility was founded in 1956 in Burbank, California as General Connectors Corporation (GCC), a company whose primary products was non-metallic aircraft ducting. In 1961, General Connectors designed and produced the first “Peri-Seal” connectors which are still designed into aircraft today. With the design of the Peri-Seal Connector, GCC expanded the design capability into high pressure pneumatic aircraft ducting. In 1970, GCC was acquired by Bestobell Limited, an aerospace low-pressure ducting and elastomeric seal company through which they successfully expanded new product development and customer service. In 1986, Meggitt PLC acquired Bestobell Limited and merged General Connectors with AVICA, an existing UK-based Meggitt company. Merging the two companies provided the marketplace with increased technical expertise as well as a complete line of ducting products in the US and Europe. In 2006, AVICA was renamed Meggitt Thermal Systems, Inc to reflect the businesses’ relationship with sister companies across the Meggitt group as well as its growing thermal systems capability.
Meggitt Thermal Systems – Dunstable
Formerly known as AVICA UK, our Dunstable UK facility was originally founded in 1937 in North London as a flexible hose and bellows manufacturer supplying the motor and marine industries. In the 1940’s, AVICA worked on the first Whittle Jet Engine providing pneumatic ducting. In 1955, Avica moved its facilities from North London to the new industrial estate in Hemel Hempstead. Since then, AVICA UK has focused on the design and manufacturing of Aerospace high pressure pneumatic ducting systems and aerospace components. In 2005, they relocated to their present facility in Dunstable from Hemel Hempstead, where they continue to be a leading supplier of ECS ducting systems to the majority of the world’s civil and military manufacturers and operators of aircraft, helicopters and launch vehicles.
Meggitt Thermal Systems – Coventry
Originally Dunlop Ice Protection & Composites, this facility was founded in 1890 and has extensive experience in designing and manufacturing integrated ice protection, electronic control management systems and complex composite structures for military and civil aerospace use. This facility provided its first aircraft equipment in 1910 and its first airborne ice protection systems in the 1930s. Its first electro-thermal system was developed during the 1940s and, for more than 50 years, has continued to provide aircraft manufacturers with high quality, high performance equipment.
Meggitt Thermal Systems – Addison
Originally Keith Products, this facility was acquired by Meggitt in 2006, and has over 30 years’ experience certifying and designing aircraft air conditioning, and heating and ventilation systems for business jets, general aviation aircraft, commercial helicopters, military jet and helicopter trainers and special mission aircraft. As a leading supplier in vapor cycle air conditioning systems, it has delivered and certified over 8000 systems worldwide, accumulating one of largest product listing of Federal Aviation Association certified air conditioning units in the world.
Meggitt Thermal Systems - Indianapolis
Originally Stewart Warner South Wind Corporation, this facility has over 60 years’ experience designing and manufacturing heat exchangers and mobile combustion heating units for critical and demanding applications in aerospace, transportation, defense and the process industry. The company's roots date back to the 1930s when the South Wind gasoline-fired heater was standard automotive equipment in America. In the 1940s, the South Wind division of the former Stewart Warner Corporation was established to pursue the design and manufacture of combustion heaters and heat exchangers for military vehicles and aircraft. In the 1960s, the company became one of the world's leading suppliers of large aluminum heat exchangers for the chemical processing and air reduction industries. Today, extensive experience has allowed Stewart Warner South Wind Corporation to become a key supplier of heat exchangers to the world’s helicopter and aviation jet engine markets, and to expand into the growing fuel cell power generation and hydrogen production industry.