Kaiser Aluminum Paying $90M for Plane Parts Maker

Foothill Ranch-based aluminum products Kaiser Aluminum Corp. is paying $90 million for an Arizona maker of parts for planes.

Kaiser is buying Chandler, Ariz.-based Alexco LLC in a deal that’s set to close by year’s end. Kaiser is paying cash for Alexco.

Alexco makes parts of alloy—a lightweight composite of metals—for planes. The company’s management and operations are expected to stay in place.

Kaiser shapes aluminum into custom pieces for the defense, aviation and auto industries.

Customers include Boeing Co., Airbus SAS, Lockheed Martin Corp., Honda Motor Co. and truck maker Paccar Inc.

Shipbuilding industrialist Henry J. Kaiser, who's known for building Hoover Dam and founding healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente, started Kaiser Aluminum in 1946.

In 2005, Kaiser Aluminum moved its headquarters from Houston to Orange County.