Dowty Group

Dowty Group

Company type	Public
Industry	Aircraft equipment
Founded	1935
Defunct	1992
Fate	Acquired
Successor	TI Group
Headquarters	Cheltenham, UK
Key people	Sir Robert Hunt (Chairman)[1]

Dowty Group was a leading British manufacturer of aircraft equipment. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The firm ceased operating as an individual entity following its acquisition by TI Group in 1992.

The company has its origins as the Aircraft Components Company in 1931 and the work of British inventor and businessman George Dowty. In 1934, Dowty achieved its breakthrough sale of its innovative undercarriage designs, being contracted by the Gloster Aircraft Company to provide oleo struts for the Gloster Gauntlet biplane. In 1935, as the business expanded to meet demand, Dowty founded a new manufacturing venture to produce his aviation products, which was named Dowty Aviation.

It quickly secured numerous additional orders and manufacturing facilities to cope with the pressing demands of the Second World War, a significant majority of British aircraft production incorporating the firm's various products. By the end of the conflict, Dowty Aviation was a major British manufacturing interest, possessing many production plants at home and overseas in Canada and the United States. By the end of hostilities in 1945, Dowty had reportedly manufactured 87,786 landing gears and 984,388 hydraulic units. A major drive to apply its technology to other commercial ventures was taken in the post-war era.

Throughout much of its existence, Dowty Group specialised in the manufacture of hydraulic and actuation systems, advanced propellers, turbine engine components and tubular systems; it was also a long-term owner of the Hamble aircraft structures business.^[2] The Dowty Group also diversified into various commercial and industrial sectors, venturing into telecommunications, software, and becoming a market leader in the manufacturing of mining equipment.^[3]