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...

FMI: www.omf-aircraft.com