Quest expansion adds 80 jobs
<p>From left, David Schuck, customer service director and construction project manager; Sam Hill, CEO; Susa Jordan, CFO; and Jason Eddy, vice president of operations; break ground on the new 30,000 square-foot expansion for Quest Aircraft on Wednesday. Quest officials hope to have the expansion and another 200,000 square foot building finished by spring.</p>
SANDPOINT — Quest Aircraft Company is ramping up operations to build about 60 aircraft a year, almost double what is currently produced. To meet that goal, the company will hire about 80 more employees and expand their operations.
“They will be in all aspects of the business,” said David Schuck, customer service director. “We are hiring a lot more people.”
Currently Quest employs about 220 people, planning on being near 300 by March. He said the open positions include assembly, quality inspection, engineers and administration. Applications can be found online, he said.
He said they are also adding 30,000 square feet to its existing 84,000 square feet to accommodate the increase in production. He said the second phase of the project will add an additional 200,000 square feet, including a completion center, delivery center, engineering space, a larger administration area and likely a painting facility. They operate on 30 acres with frontage on the runway.
Quest broke ground on the first expansion Wednesday. Both phases should be completed by May, Schuck said.
Currently the company produces about 32 aircraft per year. Schuck said they hope to reach about 48 aircraft next year with 60 being the goal after that.
Schuck said the expansion is partly because the business is thriving, but also because the company has been under new ownership since last February. He said the new owners are making a greater investment in the company, which helps the area. They are headquartered in Sandpoint, however, he knows they would like to expand to other areas.
Quest builds a 10-person, high-wing, turboprop aircraft. Schuck said the planes have a shorter take-off and landing capability, meaning they do not need as long of a runway. He said building a 2,000-foot runway is expensive, but the Kodiaks can land in the desert or on unpaved strips, which makes them more cost effective for consumers.
“Where our aircraft really shines is in areas with not a lot of infrastructure,” Schuck said, listing places such as Alaska, Brazil, Australia and Indonesia as examples. “We do have airplanes in those places.”
There are 156 Kodiak aircraft flying the skies, many near Sandpoint. Schuck said he sees the aircraft daily during test-flights or for service. Quest is a Part-145 Repair Station for the FAA. That makes Quest unique in that they build the aircraft and offer servicing.
“We have a network of dealers and service centers all over the world,” Schuck said.
Quest’s mission is to design and manufacture backcountry aircraft, specifically suited for demanding missions and humanitarian organizations. Some of those situations can only be accessed by unpaved, remote strips.
The company was founded by Tom Hamilton and David Voetmann, launching the Idaho Air Group in 1998. From there, Quest Aircraft was born. In May 2001, the company officially launched and a board of directors was selected.