Composites manufacturer Fiber Art (Booth No. 896) has been acquired from the estate of founder Patsy Pyka in a management buyout. The corporation’s new majority owners are president and CEO Bruce Beatty, executive vice president and COO Michael Goldman and CFO Debbie Ott.

Pyka’s estate retains an 18-percent shareholder position in the 12-year-old firm, which has 50 employees and annual revenues of $5 million from such customers as Gulfstream, Stevens Aviation, Jet Works Air Center and Gore Design Completions.
At the show, the Cibolo, Texas-based Fiber Art announced that it has signed a deal to exclusively manufacture the NT pleated electronic shade system, the newest aircraft window treatment designed by San Antonio-based Aviation Design & Development Group. The dual-panel shade system can be controlled from throughout the cabin by a single input switch.

According to Fiber Art, its advantages include rapid reconfiguration, significant cost savings and an optional download module that transmits data between the electronic controller and the aircraft’s onboard or ground maintenance computer.