OMF Aircraft Folks Talk About The Future
A tele-conference with
the principals of the surviving North American OMF Aircraft
operation discussed the recently disclosed bankruptcy of their
German parent company, Wednesday.
While the news that ANN broke
recently certainly casts a negative light on the
future of the highly regarded OMF 160, and its future siblings the
diesel powered OMF 135D and the Four-Place OMF-250; Company
President Paul Costanzo was modestly optimistic about the future of
their programs.
Due to legal language incorporated in the investment contract
reached between SGF (the Quebec Gov't investment arm) and OMF Gmbh;
the Canadian company will be able to buy controlling interest in
the North American operation (which was held, 70%, by the German
parent company) and eliminate a number of legal issues as a
result. The TC will be transferred to Canada and the applications
for that and the proper Production Certificate(s) are already being
filed. They expect to get that finished by the end of the second
Quarter of 2004.
The company is seeking
some $5 million dollars in new investment money, which will also
allow them to partake in another $4 Million that is available to
them once that hurdle is overcome. The search for new capital is
rumored to be proceeding fairly well, and the company seemed
confident enough to predict that announcements should be offered by
the end of this February. Costanzo (pictured right) noted that he
had a "high level of confidence in the potential success of their
financial plan.
With cash in hand, OMF Aircraft should be back in production by
May and shipping aircraft by June or July. Development of the
Symphony 135D and 250 will, unfortunately, see some significant
delays on the order of 6 months or more, but the company's
commitment to finishing both those projects seems quite strong and
is expected to be a critical part of their business plan.
For the moment, the current dilemma has left eight aircraft
incomplete at the Quebec factory, though the 41 complete aircraft
in private hands are promised continued customer support from the
remaining work force.
The order book stands at 44 aircraft, of which some 21 are
standard OMF-160 models and the other 23 are divided among 135Ds
and the Four-Place 250. Despite the current dilemma, OMF Sales guru
Bill Sprague, notes that they're confident enough in their future
to "pursue business for 3Q/04 deliveries."
As always, ANN will keep you informed about developments in this
story...