In 1966, James H. Nelson was working as a rep for a manufacturing company in Dallas, Texas. When the firm was unable to keep up with demand from the fast-growing aerospace industry, James bought a machine, set it up in his own garage and set his sons, Mike and Spence, to work for the weekend.

That first order sparked an explosion of business for the Nelsons. On May 1st — May Day — of that same year, Mayday Manufacturing soared into the aerospace industry. Over time, Mayday came to be synonymous with the ubiquitous distress signal of aviators.

“If you are having trouble,” James would say, “just call Mayday!”

From 2009 to 2016 Mayday Manufacturing was a subsidiary of Tailwind Technologies, the parent company of Hartzell Propeller and Hartzell Engine Technologies; Aviation industry leaders tracing their roots back to the Wright brothers and the birth of aviation.

In 2016 Mayday Manufacturing and Hi-Tech Metal Finishing were acquired by Esco Technologies, a global provider of highly engineered products and solutions serving diverse and growing end-markets including the aerospace, space, healthcare, wireless, consumer electronics and electric utility industries.

Mayday Manufacturing is part of the Engineered Solution Division which provide innovative solutions essential to the aerospace, space, defense and industrial markets. The combined technical capabilities and resources of Crissair, Inc., PTI Technologies Inc., Westland Technologies, Inc. and VACCO Industries enable the group to provide highly engineered fluid control solutions for mission critical systems.

Mayday Manufacturing is proud to be part of Esco Technologies and looks forward to continued growth in the aerospace industry.