French company acquires Quest

SANDPOINT — A French company known for building the fastest turboprop aircraft announced this week it is in the process of acquiring Quest Aircraft Company.

Through the acquisition, the family-owned Daher Group, which produces the TBM 910 and TBM 940 turboprops, is adding Quest’s legacy aircraft, the Kodiak 100, to its portfolio.

“This is very good news, not only for our associates but also for our community,” Quest CEO Rob Wells said in an email to the Daily Bee. “Daher is a 160-year-old, family-owned company that greatly appreciates the values and culture of Quest.”

Wells’ comments were echoed in a statement by Daher chairman Patrick Daher on Thursday, as he said Quest was built on a foundation of values that are common to the two companies, with a focus on excellence and a commitment to a “high-quality, extremely robust product.”

“As a powerful and maneuverable aircraft — used particularly for humanitarian missions to provide aid to isolated communities — the Kodiak 100 perfectly complements our TBM product range and is fully in line with Daher’s long-term vision as a company committed to the future of aviation,” Daher said.

Quest Aircraft evolved from Tom Hamilton and Dave Voetmann’s vision of the Kodiak, originally designed for humanitarian missions in developing countries, with the pair officially launching the company in 2001. In February 2015, it was acquired by Setouchi Holdings, Inc., a member of the Tsuneishi Group, a multinational corporation based in Japan. In 2016, another Tokyo-based company, Mitsui & Co., Ltd, invested in Quest as well.

Wells said what prompted the sale was that Tsuneishi Group officials decided it was time to refocus on their core business of ship building.

Daher officials said the acquisition will strengthen two of its strategic pillars by reinforcing its aircraft manufacturing business and consolidating the company’s leading position in the turboprop segment, as well as achieving a major milestone in the growth of industrial and service operations in North America.

“The Quest Aircraft Company’s acquisition represents an additional step in our development in the United States and an overall strengthening of our aircraft manufacturing,” Daher CEO Didier Kayat said in the statement. “In addition to making Daher the world’s seventh largest aircraft manufacturer in business aviation, it provides us with our first industrial site in the United States, thereby reinforcing Daher’s position as a Tier-1 aerospace equipment and systems manufacturer, as well as a logistics and services provider. This key acquisition for Daher is perfectly aligned with the strategy of intensifying our company’s links with the North American market’s leading aerospace players.”

Daher officials said in the statement that they plan to ultimately develop synergies with the two aircraft product lines, introducing new technologies and functionalities for the Kodiak aircraft that have contributed to the success of the TBM.

“The Kodiak 100 is an aviator’s aircraft, just like the members of our TBM family, and we are happy to bring together two communities of passionate pilots and operators with the acquisition of Quest,” said Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice president of the Daher Aircraft Business Unit. “We also are particularly pleased to welcome the 240 employees based in Sandpoint, Idaho, to the Daher Group.”

Wells said for Quest’s current and future employees, the acquisition comes as welcome news.

“For the first time in the company’s history we’ll have an owner that is both highly experienced in business aviation and has the financial depth to focus on long-term possibilities for the Kodiak,” Wells said.

As for the company’s future in Sandpoint, Wells said one of Quest’s “most effective” marketing tools is a tagline painted on every Kodiak that leaves the facility — “Built by hand in Sandpoint, Idaho.” Wells said Daher has no production or engineering assets in the United States, so Quest’s capabilities are of “great value” to them, and those capabilities are in Sandpoint.

“Unlike many other industries, from a regulatory and practical perspective, it’s very difficult to move an aircraft manufacturing company of our size, especially considering all of the value-added elements that originate here,” he said.

Wells said his hope is that when Daher’s senior leadership team visits Sandpoint in the future, that there will be an opportunity for the community to welcome them.

The acquisition is expected to close by the end of 2019, with Quest to become a Franco-American aircraft manufacturer.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.