New Paint Finishing Line Bumps Output

Daher has been on a tear lately, selling aircraft as fast as they can - and now they're kicking it up a notch with a 38% production increase. 

The bump in output will take place at the Sandpoint, Idaho facility inherited from Kodiak Aircraft after that company's acquisition by the French manufacturer. The Kodiak 900, a rugged, backcountry-ready single engine turboprop, sports a light touch of French refinement now that it's in Daher's care. The difference is subtle, think more 'oxblood leather' than 'moose blood all over the steps', but it's proven to be a popular one. The extra class, improved cruise speed, and lengthened fuselage were already a popular change to the Kodiak 100, but the sale gave operators a much wider support network to boot. That recipe means the Kodiak platform is more popular than ever, enough that Daher will be moving from a target of 18 aircraft per year to 25. That's a pretty hefty increase, just a hair short of 39% overall.

In order to pull it off, Daher has had to buff up the Sandpoint facility to the tune of about $2.7 million in all, largely centered on a new painting facility. That offers 9,000 square feet to finish out completed aircraft with their glossy factory finish - one that looks much better than past models, Daher notes.

“These parallel assembly lines were developed using our internal resources, fully benefiting from support across the Sandpoint team,” explained Kerry Olson, Daher’s Director of Kodiak Operations and Site Leader at Sandpoint. “The parallel production came on-line ahead of schedule, which is another point of pride for everyone at the facility.”

To date, the Kodiak fleet has swelled to 330 aircraft in all, including the older Kodiak 100 and Daher-owned 900. The latter is still fresh on the market after a debut at Sun 'n Fun 2023, but the seventh of the type is already nestled into its now home with a private owner.

“Kodiak’s well-earned reputation as the legendary ‘go anywhere’ utility aircraft has been further enhanced since Daher’s 2019 acquisition of the product line, and its popularity continues to grow – with a current two-year order backlog,” Chabbert told reporters at the press conference. “The production enhancement announced today responds to the strong demand across the customer base – from private owners/operators to government agencies and special mission operators for applications such as wildfire suppression, environmental monitoring, law enforcement and medical evacuation.”

FMI: www.daher.com