Aircraft parts firm names new CFO

Honeycomb Company of America, a Manatee County-based aftermarket manufacturer of aircraft parts for the military, named Ryan Blust chief financial officer.

Blust, according to a release, was previously the director of financial reporting for Clearwater-based MarineMax, a publicly traded boat company. Blust, with a degree in finance and accounting from the University of South Florida, is also a CPA. “Ryan brings a unique skill set to our company, he will be a key asset in our growth strategy,” Honeycomb President and CEO Steven Walker says in the release.

Boston-based private equity fund Overall Capital Partners acquired Honeycomb last year and Walker, in taking over, has led a shift to growth and expansion. Orders rose 21% in 2013 over 2012, he says. The firm, which works out of a 150,000-square-foot facility on 12 acres in south Manatee County, has about 115 employees, including 10 or so hired last year. Honeycomb had around $15 million in 2012 revenues, according to federal government contract data.

The firm's niche is in manufacturing airplane wings, helicopter rotors and related parts for aircraft like the Boeing KC-135 tanker and the C-5, a large military transport plane. Honeycomb was founded in 1947 in Bridgeport, Conn.