Daher, producer of the TBM turboprop family, has embarked on the purchase of Quest Aircraft Company based in Sandpoint, Idaho, USA, which builds the Kodiak 100.

Daher says the acquisition will strengthen two of its strategic pillars by reinforcing its aircraft manufacturing business and consolidating the company's leading position in the turboprop segment by widening the product family, and achieving a major milestone in the growth of its North American industrial and services operations.

The Kodiak 100 is a 10-seat, unpressurised, entry-level aircraft in the single engine turboprop category. Originally created for humanitarian missions in developing countries, the Kodiak 100 is an agile and robust aircraft, capable of operating on uneven and ultra-short runways. Certified in 67 countries and with more than 270 of its type in operation, the Kodiak 100 is used worldwide by air taxi, recreational and leisure operators, along with businesses, pilot-owners and humanitarian organisations.

“Quest Aircraft Company's acquisition represents an additional step in our development in the USA and an overall strengthening of our aircraft manufacturing business,” says Daher CEO Didier Kayat. “In addition to making Daher the world's seventh largest aircraft manufacturer in business aviation, it provides us with our first industrial site in the USA, thereby reinforcing Daher's position as a tier one aerospace equipment and systems manufacturer, as well as a logistics and services provider. This key acquisition for Daher is perfectly aligned with the strategy of intensifying our company's links with the North American market's leading aerospace players.”

With more than 150 years of know-how, Daher now intends to invest in this production platform to offer an enhanced services and sales network.

Daher chairman Patrick Daher says: “Quest was built on a foundation of values that are common to our two companies, with a focus on excellence and with the commitment to a high quality, extremely robust product. As a powerful and manoeuvrable aircraft, used particularly for humanitarian missions to provide aid to isolated communities, the Kodiak 100 perfectly complements our TBM product range and is fully in line with Daher's long-term vision as a company committed to the future of aviation.”

The family-owned Daher Group ultimately plans to develop synergies with the two aircraft product lines, introducing technologies and functionalities for the Kodiak aircraft that have contributed to the successes achieved by the TBM.

“The Kodiak 100 is an aviator's aircraft, just like the members of our TBM family, and we are happy to bring together two communities of passionate pilots and operators with the acquisition of Quest,” explains Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of the Daher Aircraft business unit. “We also are particularly pleased to welcome the 240 employees based in Sandpoint to the group.”

Robert Wells, Quest Aircraft Company CEO, adds: “The know-how of Quest and Daher opens the potential for rapid growth, with the combined operation becoming a key international player. Our teams share the values for craftsmanship and quality, as underscored by Quest's motto 'built by hand in Sandpoint, Idaho.'”

The acquisition's closing is expected to be completed by the end of 2019, subject to approval by the appropriate authorities in both countries.