General Electric's aviation unit said Thursday it bought a Czech company that will help it make inroads into the fast-growing market for small twin-engine turboprop aircraft.
GE Aviation said it purchased Walter Engines, a manufacturer of small turboprop engines and machined parts for the aviation industry.
Cincinnati-based GE Aviation did not disclose terms of the deal, but spokeswoman Deborah Case said it was less than $70 million.
Walter Engines, based in the Czech Republic, has made aircraft engines since 1923. It reported revenue of $28 million in 2007, GE Aviation said.
GE Aviation, a business of Fairfield-based General Electric Co., makes commercial and military jet engines, components and mechanical systems for aircraft.
Case said GE Aviation intends to compete against Pratt & Whitney's PT6 engine.
"It will allow us to compete in a segment we've not competed in before," she said. "We know they definitely have a big presence in the market and this opportunity with Walter allows us to enter that.
"Whatever win we can get from the market is a win. It's more than we have now," she said.
Pratt & Whitney Canada, a Longueuil, Quebec-based subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., has produced PT6 engines since 1963.
"We take all competition very seriously," said Nancy German, spokeswoman for Pratt & Whitney Canada.
Analyst Paul Nisbet at JSA Research Inc. in Newport, R.I., said GE can put a lot of muscle behind its new business. However, Walter Engines is a fraction of the size of Pratt & Whitney Canada, which Nisbet said is estimated to post $3.4 billion in sales this year.
"I don't see where there's much competition from someone 1 percent the size of Pratt & Whitney Canada," he said.
Skyrocketing fuel prices are hurting the airline industry, but "that's not stopping airlines from ordering planes," Nisbet said.
Business jets, regional jets and helicopters all use engines produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada, he said. "It's a very strong business," he said.
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