NN, Inc., a North Carolina global industrial company that engineers and manufactures high-precision components and assemblies, acquired the large-scale automated plating operations from a leading global provider of electrical infrastructure solutions.
Harold BevisThe company says the seller is an existing customer who is moving from in-house manufacturing to outsourced operations as part of this decision.
The equipment acquisition will enable NN to significantly expand its processing capabilities in silver-plated busbars and terminals, among other capabilities, which are ideal electrical components for electric grid and data center equipment. This further enables NN to broaden its market aperture for growth in this area, its second-largest end market.
The plating line being acquired is substantially larger and more automated than NN’s current capabilities, featuring large plating baths designed for high-volume, low-cost production. The automated plating line will enable NN to process larger parts, representing a transformative expansion of its product offering in terms of size, volume, and types of plated metal products NN can deliver to its electrical customers.
NN expects this new capability to be operational at an existing facility in the fall of 2026. Financially, the new business won from this line will be inclusive of the Company’s prior guidance of $70 million to $80 million of new business wins in 2026. The capex associated with this project is inclusive of the company’s capex guidance of $20 million to $22 million in 2026. The Company is funding this strategic addition from operating cash flow.
The key end markets targeted by this new capability are electric grid and data center equipment. The Company is initially focused on switchgear assemblies for emergency power generation in the grid, hospitals, and data centers.
“This equipment acquisition is another stepping stone for NN’s strategic pivot into certain high-value verticals that fit its operational footprint,” says Harold Bevis, President and Chief Executive Officer of NN. We are adding capabilities that open the aperture for growth in the electric grid and data center target markets. Our plating business, known in the industry as GMF, is one of the highest-gross-margin plants in the NN portfolio. This is accretive business for NN. The return on investment is consistent with the ROIs that we target for new business.”
Bevis says this is precisely the type of high-value, capital-efficient growth opportunity that NN is focused on securing as they execute our sales growth plan. GMF has a strong reputation for quality, on-time delivery, and deep expertise in the science of electroplating.
“This business is key to growth in electronics, defense, electric grid, and data center,” he says. “This equipment is a logical addition to our capabilities and will unlock our prospecting into larger parts, higher volume parts, bigger programs, and more customers. The equipment was acquired from a long-term NN customer, who intends to repurpose its reclaimed floor space as data center and grid infrastructure markets take off, so this is a win-win for all parties.”
Bevis says this acquisition is consistent with NN’s broader strategic transformation plan, which has already delivered three consecutive years of improved adjusted EBITDA. The company has exited dilutive, lower-value businesses and is actively replacing that rationalized volume with higher-margin, accretive new growth through engineering-led new products and new program wins. NN has secured more than $200 million in new awards through its technology-based new business development program, and NN expects to launch approximately 100 awarded programs in 2026. Launched in mid-2023 under new management, the new business program focuses on leveraging the Company’s technology and operational footprint strengths in new areas. The company is guiding to a fourth consecutive year of improved adjusted EBITDA and a materially higher amount of operating cash flow.”
“NN has a couple of other small acquisitions that we are focused upon and have been working on for about a year,” Bevis says. “They are also focused on non-automotive, high-value capability expansion and profitable growth. Over the last two years, most of our operating cash flow was consumed by four plant closures and severing about 800 people, which was tough and brutal for those impacted but necessary for NN’s transition.”
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, NN has facilities in North America, Europe, South America, and China. Visit www.nninc.com.
