What RHH Franks does

RHH Franks Limited is a UK-based, family-owned precision engineering and subcontract manufacturer serving aerospace, defence, nuclear and marine OEMs. Founded in 1961 in New Milton, Hampshire, the firm operates from a recently expanded 30,000+ sq ft facility that integrates eight service lines — CNC machining (3, 4 and 5 axis), dip brazing, fabrication and joining, heat treatment, chemical processing and painting, non-destructive testing, product development (CATIA V5) and special processes — under one roof, materially reducing its customers' need for multi-vendor subcontracting.

Core technical differentiators include Nadcap accreditation across four special processes (Welding, Chemical Processing, Non-Destructive Testing and Heat Treatment), three AMS2750 Class 2C heat-treatment ovens with Eurotherm traceability, two 24-inch salt-bath dip brazing cells, and Aberlink coordinate measuring machines with CAD model upload. The company is BSI EN 9100:2018 / AS9100D compliant (17 consecutive years of audit success), JOSCAR registered, and Cyber Essentials certified, positioning it as an approved supplier to tier-1 primes including Honeywell Aerospace (since 1967), Leonardo Helicopters, Cobham Defence Systems, Eaton Aerospace, QinetiQ and Ultra Electronics.

The business model is direct enterprise sales of bespoke and short-batch-run precision components and assemblies, quoted per part or per programme against customer drawings and proprietary tooling. Revenue is generated via one-time subcontract manufacturing contracts; no licences, subscriptions, distribution or marketplace channels are used. Capacity is being scaled from approximately 130,000 to over 160,000 components per year following a 25%+ expansion of the Hampshire site completed in January 2021, with the operating model now anchored by a recently appointed Managing Director (Lloyd Bates) and Sales Director (John Atkins).

Name

RHH Franks

Legal name

RHH Franks Limited

Website

https://rhhfranks.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

RHH Franks is a UK Nadcap-accredited precision engineering subcontract manufacturer founded in 1961, producing CNC-machined, dip-brazed, heat-treated and assembled components for aerospace, defence, nuclear and marine OEMs from its expanded Hampshire facility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerospace Precision Manufacturing Services

NAICS

Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing (33641)

SIC

Aircraft & Parts (3720)

akta.pro primary industry

MRO Engineering, Technical Publications & CAMO Support (IMABALAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

NDT/Inspection & Testing Services (Aviation) (IMABALAJ), Component MRO (LRU/Rotables, Hydraulics, Pneumatics) (IMABALAD), Underwater Inspection, Maintenance & Repair (UWILD, Diving/ROV, In-water Cleaning) (IMAJAFAJ)

Keywords

• Precision engineering services
• CNC machining services
• Aerospace manufacturing
• Dip brazing services
• Specialist heat treatment

Headquarters

HQ city

New Milton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Subcontract Manufacturing Services: End-to-end manufacturing services including CNC machining, fabrication, heat treatment, chemical processing, and special processes. Revenue generated through direct contracts with aerospace, defence, nuclear and marine industry clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

RHH Franks provides subcontract precision engineering and manufacturing services for the aerospace, defence, nuclear and marine sectors, encompassing CNC machining, large-format aluminium dip brazing, aerospace-certified heat treatment, chemical processing, fabrication and joining, and inspection. The company takes customer designs through product development, manufacturing, special processes, and quality inspection as a vertically integrated single supplier under Nadcap and AS9100D approvals.

Product overview

RHH Franks is an end-to-end precision engineering and manufacturing firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of services for aerospace, defence, nuclear, and marine industries. The company operates a unified manufacturing platform encompassing eight integrated service areas: CNC Machining (3, 4, and 5-axis milling and turning), Dip Brazing (salt bath aluminium joining), Heat Treatment (thermal processing under AMS2750 standards), Chemical Processing and Paint Finishing, Fabrication and Joining (tube bending, welding, brazing, assembly), Quality and Inspection (coordinate measuring machines, NDT), Product Development (CATIA V5 design and prototyping), and Special Processes (Nadcap-accredited welding, heat treatment, chemical processing, and non-destructive testing). Services are delivered from a 30,000 sq ft facility in Hampshire, UK, and are designed to work together to provide complete turnkey manufacturing solutions from initial design through to finished component delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CNC Machining 3-axis to 5-axis CNC machining of complex metallic components for aerospace, defence, nuclear and marine customers.
• Dip Brazing Large-format aluminium dip brazing of complex assemblies, positioned as a flagship capability and 'Foundry of Firsts' service.
• Heat Treatment Aerospace heat treatment conducted to AMS2750 Class 2C specification as a Nadcap-accredited special process.
• Chemical Processing Chromic acid anodising and chromate conversion coating delivered under Nadcap accreditation for aerospace components.
• Fabrication and Joining Fabrication and joining of complex metallic assemblies, supporting both dip brazing and downstream special processes.
• Quality and Inspection Post-process inspection using Aberlink CMMs and CAD/CAM-supported measurement against AS9100D quality systems.
• Product Development Early-stage product development support including first-article trials and process transfer for new aerospace assemblies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Factory expansion increased manufacturing capacity by over 25%
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• AerFin: UK aerospace aftermarket specialist providing component MRO and support to airlines and lessors. Comparable in operating within the UK aerospace aftermarket and in serving legacy programme content, although focused on service/MRO rather than OEM-grade component manufacturing.

Broad incumbents

• Meggitt (Parker Meggitt): UK-origin aerospace systems and components supplier (now part of Parker), serving commercial and military aerospace primes including Honeywell, Leonardo and Cobham. Comparable customer overlap but at vastly larger scale and systems integration level.
• Senior plc: Largest UK-listed pure-play aerospace and defence tier-2 supplier of fluid conveyance, structural and precision engineered components. Comparable in aerospace subcontract manufacturing but at materially larger scale and breadth.
• GKN Aerospace: Tier-1 aerospace structures and components supplier, owned by Melrose Industries. Sells into many of the same primes (including Honeywell/Learjet content). Operating model and regulatory posture are broadly comparable at the underlying manufacturing layer.
• Doncasters Group: UK-headquartered manufacturer of precision-engineered components for aerospace including castings, fabrications and machined assemblies. Overlaps with RHH Franks on precision subcontract manufacturing for aerospace primes.
• Bodycote: Global market leader in heat treatment and specialist thermal processing services, with strong aerospace accreditation footprint. Directly competes in the Nadcap-accredited heat treatment service line that RHH Franks provides in-house.

Regional players

• Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group: UK-based aerospace and defence MRO, manufacturing and modification specialist. Comparable as a UK SME serving aerospace and defence primes, with overlap on MRO-adjacent component manufacturing and accreditation posture.
• Magellan Aerospace: Canadian supplier of aero structures, precision components and assemblies for civil and defence aerospace. Similar tier-2/3 manufacturing profile and accredited special-process scope, but primarily operating in North America rather than the UK.

Direct peers

• Element Materials Testing: Global testing, inspection and certification provider with Nadcap-accredited laboratories serving aerospace. Comparable on the inspection/NDT side of RHH Franks' portfolio and as a customer-acceptable qualifier within prime supply chains.
• Gardner Aerospace: UK/Portuguese tier-2/3 supplier of precision machined aerospace components and assemblies, owned by LetterOne (private equity). Directly comparable in business model, customer base and accredited special-process scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rhh-franks-new-milton-limited

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about RHH Franks