Quest Aircraft furloughs employees

SANDPOINT — Quest Aircraft Co. will furlough all except a handful of the airplane manufacturer’s 120 employees for three weeks beginning next Tuesday.

Quest CEO Paul Shaller said this wasn’t the way he wanted to end an already turbulent 2010.

“We are going to end up manufacturing 14 planes this year when I really wanted to do three times that,” he said.

Quest had four rounds of layoffs this year and continues to be in the middle of an economic storm.

“We are going to spend this time looking at financial recapitalization, new investors, etc.,” he said. “ The economy looks pretty flat for us but we are looking for opportunities internationally and with the government and corporations.”

Quest had 345 employees the year it opened in 2005.

Quest has produced 46 Kodiak aircraft from its Sandpoint Airport facility. The million-dollar specialty airplanes have flown all over the world - including some of the most remote areas of the planet.

Employees will come back to work on Jan. 3.

A few workers will remain at the plant for customer service during the furlough.