Pietro Carnaghi joins Fives

Fives, a global industrial engineering company, has acquired Pietro Carnaghi S.p.A., a manufacturer of machine-tools specializing in large-scale machining solutions. This strategic move marks a significant expansion of Fives’ capabilities in high-precision machining, reinforcing its commitment to delivering advanced manufacturing solutions across critical defense, nuclear, aerospace, and energy industries.

Pietro Carnaghi, founded in 1922 in Italy by the Carnaghi family, produces large-scale, 5-axis machining solutions serving energy, aerospace, mining, bearings, and general mechanics industrial sectors with an export rate of approx. 90%.

With the acquisition, Pietro Carnaghi becomes a cornerstone of Fives’ High Precision Machines (HPM) division, strengthening the capabilities of two global, customer-centric, market-leading players and better serving their customers bases with innovative, reliable, and locally supported solutions worldwide.

Together, the operations of Fives’ HPM division and Pietro Carnaghi are expected to generate revenue of approximately 400 to 450 million euros ($470 to $529 million) , relying on the combined workforce strengths of 1,900 global employees to expand markets, enhance capabilities, and deliver even greater value to clients:

• Global presence and enhanced customer value: With Pietro Carnaghi, the HPM division will operate through 24 entities worldwide – 11 in North America, 7 in Europe, and 6 in Asia. These ensure proximity, responsiveness, and tailored support for customers around the world, from project design to installation and throughout the equipment’s entire life cycle.

• Expanded machining solutions: Customers from strategic sectors, such as defense, nuclear, aerospace, and energy, can now access an expanded range of high-precision machining solutions. This portfolio includes vertical lathes, gantry mills, large machining centers and Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) engineered by Pietro Carnaghi for machining complex, large-scale, rotary parts, typically used on mission-critical processes.

Based on this extensive range of technologies embedded in iconic names like Giddings & Lewis, Cincinnati, Liné Machines, Landis, Bryant in North America and now Pietro Carnaghi, Fives reinforces its capacity to deliver advanced manufacturing solutions, enabling customers to tackle complex challenges with increased reliability and performance.

• Reinforced industrial setup: By integrating Pietro Carnaghi, Fives will increase its manufacturing capabilities and gain greater control over its supply chain, thanks to the integration of a state-of-the-art 45,000m² (484,400ft²) industrial facility in Northern Italy, that meets the highest global standards.

“This transaction reinforces Pietro Carnaghi’s ability to maintain ongoing activities and honor existing contractual commitments, ensuring consistent and high-quality presence in the market,” said Giuliano Radice, Chairman at Pietro Carnaghi.

“We are delighted to welcome Pietro Carnaghi; this acquisition perfectly illustrates our belief that by bringing together the most advanced expertise from around the world, we can meet the major challenges of energy transition and industrial performance, especially in the strategic sectors of aerospace, defense, energy and space,” said Frédéric Sanchez, President & CEO of Fives Group.

Matt Shockey, CEO of Fives Machining Systems Inc. and President of Fives’ Grinding | Ultra Precision business unit, told Aerospace Manufacturing and Design, “Petro Carnaghi brings Fives’ high precision machine division an expanded range of high-precision machines, solutions, and services, and they bring us capabilities within large-dimension, vertical turning and portal milling machinery, as well as flexible machining systems – automated palletized systems – for automating machines of this type.”

Pietro Carnaghi’s strength in aero engines and turbine engines for energy is one of the benefits the acquisition brings to Fives.

“The large casings, large gears and gear boxes, some of the discs and drums rings… large, heavy, very precise components – are among Pietro Carnaghi’s key strengths, and they couple that with automated systems,” Shockey explains. “We see this as quite complementary to what we do in aerospace, our many solutions within composites and other types of machines.”

There are no plans to make any changes to Pietro Carnaghi’s existing U.S. service department in Rockford, Illinois, Shockey adds.

“The Pietro Carnaghi team here is a very experienced, capable team. They’ll continue to support their products and their brands, but they'll have access to our extensive network, where we have 60 service engineers in different locations all over North America.”

Fives has a company set up for aftermarket services and support, Machine Tool Services and Solutions, based in Hebron, Kentucky. “This is where we have parts, service, retrofitting, rebuilding, and application support. And we'll be working together with Pietro Carnaghi to build our network and our expertise as a unit here in the U.S.,” Shockey notes.