Paper: Many Employees Out Of Work, Owed Money

A once-ambitious New Zealand planemaker has fallen on tough times. Hamilton-based Alpha Aviation entered liquidation proceedings this week, leaving many of its 70 workers without a job, and owed a week's wages.

The New Zealand Herald reports the company announced the news at a staff meeting Tuesday. The planemaker's Australian parent, Inventis, called for a halt in trading of Alpha shares while it broke the news.

The announcement caught people like avionics technician Geoff Sanderson by complete surprise. He told the Waikato Times he saw no sign on the production floor the planemaker, which had shifted its efforts to mass-production over the past year, was in trouble.

"It was unexpected. The work, if anything, was ramping up," Sanderson said, adding the company had continued hiring efforts until recently. His son, Tim, recently started with the company as an trainee.

Alpha was established in 2004 to build the French-designed Robin R2160 and 2120 single-engine aircraft. Inventis -- known then as Gregory Australia -- bought the company in 2006 for $12.63 million US.

The company had ambitious plans to sell the generally well-regarded Robin -- renamed the Alpha 200 series -- in the worldwide training market. The future initially looked bright; with the Inventis purchase came a needed cash infusion to ramp up production, and one year ago Tuesday, the Alpha series earned FAA type-certification. Eighteen months ago, then-Chairman Graeme Edwards said orders for the plane were "exceeding our wildest expectations."

As ANN reported, in March 2007 former Mooney Aircraft CEO Gretchen Jahn was named General Manager at Alpha, to assist in efforts to transition the company from a start-up, to a full-fledged aircraft manufacturer. Company officials noted that in her two years at Mooney, Jahn oversaw a significant increase in aircraft production, and the introduction of two new variants to the erstwhile M20 design.

That magic wasn't meant to be at Alpha, however. Inventis named a liquidator, according to the Herald, when costs spun out of control, and a three-month search to find a buyer failed to bring any results.

Inventis said more details of the company's financial condition are to be released later this week.

FMI: www.alphaaviation.co.nz/