Just before the July 4 holiday, the highest ranking officer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base ended his 42-year career.
As commander of Air Force Materiel Command, Gen. Duke Z. Richardson, a four-star general, oversaw one of the Air Force’s biggest commands, a globe-spanning enterprise with an $81 billion annual budget and a workforce of 89,000 people who research, equip and sustain Air Force planes, weapons and equipment.
No new commander was immediately named. Instead, Richardson’s deputy, Lt. Gen. Linda Hurry, assumed those duties.
In this newsletter:
Why private equity is eyeing HVAC companies.
How a big 3D printer is changing the game for a local defense contractor.
Springboro schools and city move forward on land swap.
The highest ranking officer at Wright-Patterson retires
What happened: A new officer assumed the duties of command at Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson last week.
Gen. Duke Z. Richardson retired with his deputy, Lt. Gen. Linda Hurry, assuming the duties of commander.
What AFMC said: “Lt Gen Linda Hurry will assume the duties of the commander until such time a permanent commander is nominated and confirmed,” an AFMC spokesman said.
Headquartered at Wright-Patt, AFMC manages more than a third of the Air Force budget, managing and dispersing funds across multiple installations.
California company acquires McAfee Heating & Air in Kettering
A 2024 headline in Forbes put it this way: “Private equity is coming for your AC repairman.”
Heating up: The HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) service industry has recently become a hot target for private equity (PE) investors.
We’re seeing that trend at work in the Dayton area. Irvine, Calif.’s Champions Group Holdings recently announced its acquisition of McAfee Heating and Air.
What McAfee told me: “I’ve been in business for 35 years, I’m 62 years old,” McAfee said in a phone interview. “My family is not coming into the business. So how long do I work?”
Terms of the acquisition were not announced. But PE firms have been making these kinds of moves for a few years, looking to bring in firms with reliable revenue.
Additive manufacturing ‘game-changer:’ CRG Defense makes big investment
The investment: When engineers for the former Cornerstone Research Group in Miami Twp. need to produce parts for the Air Force (and commercial customers), they intend to spend some quality time with the ARGO 1000 Hypermelt.
The ARGO is a big additive manufacturing or 3D printing machine capable of producing aerospace-grade composite parts at scale, according to CRG Defense, as the company is now known after a recent rebranding.
The rationale: Company leaders want to move beyond research to scale manufacturing for some of its biggest customers, including the Air Force.
“What we’re trying to do is take that legacy and current R&D, and move it into systems integration, to really utilize that R&D, that technology that we’ve developed over the years and put it into systems platforms, capabilities that CRG Defense can manufacture or supply to various customers," Ian Fuller, strategic director at CRG Defense, told me.
Springboro schools, city reach land swap pact on Easton Farm site
The news: Development on the 103-acre Easton Farm property in Springboro is a step closer, with city planners reviewing a land swap agreement reached between the city and schools.
Springboro City Council recently approved the exchange of 20 acres of its 60-acre parcel — the largest of six lots in the Easton Farm development at 605 N. Main St. (Ohio 741) — with the Springboro Board of Education for two district-owned parcels.
The goal: Development plans for the farm property are moving forward.
The city Planning Commission recently reviewed the Easton Farm Partners’ final development plan for multi-family residential buildings on the site.
Cuts: Six Flags has been laying off general managers and park presidents in 27 of its parks.
While the corporation did not release an exact number of jobs to be cut, Six Flags said it planned to let 10% of its total workforce go in the near future. The company filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification report with the state of California, detailing plans to cut 140 jobs across three parks in that state. The report says those layoffs go into effect by July 21.
Contact me: Thank you once again for being here. Tell me about your business at tom.gnau@coxinc.com or at X and Bluesky. I’m also on LinkedIn and on our Dayton Business page, with my colleagues. Find me as well on my Facebook page.
Agnes is opening the doors to its bodega-style pickup location on Wayne Avenue Tuesday, July 8, as the sit-down part of the restaurant is planned to open later this month.
Fifth Street Brewpub opened in 2012 as a gathering space for the community. Today, that still rings true with a focus of serving great beer and pub-style fare, while supporting local and giving back.
Rosa Lee Hawes is being remembered as a trailblazer in the real estate industry who fought against discriminatory practi...
You received this email because you signed up for Dayton Business or because it is included in your Dayton Daily News subscription. If you don’t want this weekly newsletter, unsubscribe here.
