Arcline Purchases Rotating Machinery Services

In light of Rotating Machinery Services (RMS) being acquired, the company's CEO, John Bartos, said Arcline's industry and business-model experience and growth-centric focus are an ideal match for his company's management team, employees, and customers.

“Our success has been made possible by the work and dedication of the entire team at RMS, and we look forward to working with Arcline to continue executing our vision to redefine the aftermarket turbomachinery business through parts offering, service, expertise, and customer focus,” Bartos said.

BMO Wealth Management served as Arcline's financial advisor for the acquisition of the parts and services company specializing in the aftermarket turbomachinery industry.

“RMS demonstrates key traits we look for in our portfolio companies as a provider of mission-critical, highly engineered, non-discretionary aftermarket parts and services to a massive installed base of critical infrastructure,” said Arcline. “The company has a reputation among customers and employees and is led by an experienced and knowledgeable management team. We are confident the growth-oriented culture at RMS will fit well within the Arcline portfolio, and we are excited to partner with the management team for the Company’s next chapter of growth.”

Touring RMS

In May 2023, Turbomachinery International toured the RMS repair and maintenance shop in Pennsylvania, which handles machinery turnaround, overhauls, rerates, remaining life estimations, and failure and performance assessments. The location contained a machinery assembly bay, dynamic balancing, blasting booth, machining shop, tungsten inert gas welding up to 250 amps, and OEM technical support.

Repair and maintenance HQ in Bethlehem, PA; image credit: Rotating Machinery Services

The Bethlehem shop is home to roughly 20% of RMS’ 350 overall employees who provide guidance on proper machinery operation and maintenance, review operational data from various sites, and suggests future repairs and upgrades. It primarily houses its expander and axial compressor product lines, but steam turbines, power turbines, and centrifugal compressors are also present.

More RMS News

In October 2024, RMS acquired Blading Services Unlimited (BSU), integrating the company with its own engineering, repair, and maintenance services on critical compression equipment. The collaboration with BSU brings together expert personnel and additional customer relationships, reinforcing RMS’ aftermarket upgrades, repair, maintenance, and rebuilding/overhaul services for turbomachinery.

BSU is an independent aftermarket turbine blade and parts manufacturer focused on producing new blading for all models of gas turbines, steam turbines, and compressors. It offers precision engineering, in-house tooling, quality assurance, and customer service, expanding RMS’ capabilities and providing customers access to high-quality blades.

In June 2024, engineering and metrology teams at RMS performed a drop-in blower replacement on an AC Compressor-brand D54 centrifugal compressor. The teams scanned the current blower during operation at RMS’ Pearland Works facility, revealing critical geometries such as suction and discharge nozzles and baseplate feet without interfering with the customer’s production schedule.

The digital overlay provided by the real-time scan prepared RMS for the virtual assembly process in the Prevu3D platform. A virtual overlay of the replacement blower was compared to the original scan data, allowing engineers to understand how the component would fit into the system upon installation. The scan comparison established the need for precise baseplate machining for a seamless fit on the new blower—RMS partnered with a field machining company to optimize baseplate geometry for efficient installation and optimal shaft end alignment.