In the aviation industry, where flight-critical components often go unseen but never unappreciated, Colinear Aerospace is positioning itself as an increasingly important force in the rotorcraft supply chain. Founded in 1988 as a small “mom and pop” shop in New Jersey, it has evolved into a specialized manufacturer of precision machined parts for military and commercial aircraft, producing everything from rod ends, bushings and brake hardware to rotor hubs, tail rotor housings and damper assemblies. Today, under new ownership by The PDI Group, Colinear is pairing that legacy with renewed momentum.
The company’s roots trace back to a machinist-driven culture built around solving difficult manufacturing challenges. That approach still shapes the operation today. “We specialize in the projects that others have a difficult time sourcing,” Colinear general manager Brian Van De Weert told Vertical Plus, describing their niche in medium-sized, complex, flight components. One of its earliest programs was a bifilar bushing for the Sikorsky Black Hawk. That undertaking helped open doors to additional defense platforms and eventually direct support of MD Helicopters, now one of its most significant rotorcraft customers.
That contract remains central. Fabrication is done in the Sparta, New Jersey, facility, which supports rotor systems and various assemblies across multiple platforms. Van De Weert noted that visitors to MD Helicopters’ Verticon display this year could see parts bearing Colinear’s mark on the aircraft itself. “We’re pretty proud to say we’ve supported them in that effort,” he said. “To see our name on those products meant a lot to us.”
Within its 17,000-square-foot facility, Colinear has built a sophisticated machine shop with capabilities that rival much larger operations. Colinear operates a mix of three-, four- and five-axis machining centers, five-axis mill-turn devices, and a range of advanced turning centers, many configured for “lights-out” production, allowing fully automated manufacturing with minimal or no human presence. They also run coordinate measuring units, advanced inspection equipment, and laser part-marking systems.
Equally important are the certifications underpinning the work. Colinear holds AS9100 Rev D and ISO 9001:2015 certifications and recently achieved Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 2, a significant credential for a company of its scale. “We are in a very small percentage of companies our size that have this level of certification,” Nathan Haber, co-CEO of The PDI Group, told Vertical Plus.
Those existing production capacities and future prospects were driving factors behind PDI’s 2025 acquisition of the business. The deal came together just as Colinear emerged from bankruptcy, but PDI’s leadership saw far more than a turnaround story. “We believed they had a chance to become a very valuable supplier throughout the industry,” Haber said. He pointed not only to Colinear’s machining expertise and customer relationships, but also to the opportunity for vertical integration across PDI’s broader aerospace and defense portfolio of three additional companies.
For Van De Weert, who rose from CNC machinist to general manager during his 13 years with the Colinear, the biggest change under PDI has been focus. “We stripped it down to the studs and rebuilt it from the ground up,” he said. “What the business needed was discipline to unlock its growth. Discipline has been what PDI brought to this operation and what will help us move forward.”
Progress is now the next chapter. PDI would like to double Colinear’s business over the next several years, expanding from roughly $5 million to $10 million in annual revenue while broadening its role as a Tier One and Tier Two supplier. Co-CEO Ryan Haber defined PDI’s approach to Vertical Plus. “We continue to look for additional acquisitions in adjacent aviation supply chain markets, potentially strengthening Colinear’s place within a larger vertically integrated ecosystem. Now that we have broken into the Aerospace segment of A&D, with Colinear, we feel very comfortable exploring other aerospace companies, particularly flight critical component manufacturers.”
For Ryan and Nathan Haber, that vision extends beyond growth for growth’s sake. It is about elevating the role of specialized manufacturers in a demanding supply chain. “We’re trying to become a more trusted resource,” Nathan Haber said. “There’s a lot that goes into producing these parts, it’s not just throwing a part into a machine and shipping it out.”
For a company built on precision, that may be the clearest signal yet of where Colinear Aerospace is headed.
