New Funding Enables Company To Continue Product And Service
Improvements
Quest Aircraft Company, manufacturer of the Kodiak, announced
today that as part of its long term corporate strategy it has
completed a financing transaction for recapitalization and new
investment. The additional funding is from private investors and
will provide the company with continued financial stability.
"The last two years have been extremely challenging for the
aviation industry, and Quest is no exception," said Paul Schaller,
Quest Aircraft Company President and CEO. "We have injected equity
into Quest which allows us to significantly reduce debt, ramp up
production and invest in customer service centers. This positions
Quest to meet the needs of multiple market segments as the general
aviation industry continues to recover."
Customer deliveries began in late 2007, and the Kodiak has since
been deployed in more than 10 countries around the world in a
variety of applications. Kodiaks are in service with charter
operators, small businesses, personal owners, skydiving operations,
U.S. and international governments, and humanitarian organizations.
This past summer, Quest delivered nine float-equipped Kodiaks to
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"I am pleased at the progress the Quest team has made in a
relatively short period of time," continued Schaller. "Since
receiving our FAA certification in May 2007, the Kodiak has
received certification in Canada, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and
South Africa, and we are currently working on Brazilian
certification with Australian to follow. We have made several
enhancements to the aircraft including float certification, an
increase in the max gross weight, and most recently certification
of the TKS ice protection system."
The company is also investing in Customer Service and continuing
the establishment of the Kodiak network of service partners. Late
last year, Wipaire, Inc. was named the first factory-authorized
service center for the Kodiak. The company expects to appoint
several other service centers in the next few months.
Quest is also increasing its sales and marketing efforts. The
company now has six North American sales representatives
strategically located throughout the United States. The Kodiak's
rugged aluminum construction combines superior STOL performance and
high useful load. It offers proven turbine reliability with the
Pratt & Whitney PT6 turbine engine, has the ability to land and
take off from unimproved surfaces and is capable of working off
floats without structural upgrades. The Kodiak can take off in
under 1,000 feet at full gross takeoff weight of 7,255 lbs and
climb at over 1,300 feet per minute. A 3-panel Garmin G1000
integrated avionics suite including Synthetic Vision Technology is
standard equipment on the Kodiak.