Daher Expands Product Range with Quest Buy

French airframer Daher, manufacturer of the popular TBM line of single-engine turboprops, will expand its aircraft portfolio with the purchase of U.S.-based Quest Aircraft, the company announced today. The Sandpoint, Idaho company builds the 10-seat, unpressurized Kodiak 100, with more than 270 in service. The rugged, single-engine, high-wing turboprop is certified in 67 countries and is capable of operating on uneven or very short runways.

“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,” explained Patrick Daher, chairman of the family-owned company.

All 240 Quest employees are expected to join Daher, and according to company CEO Didier Kayat, the purchase, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, also represents a larger, strategic expansion. “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 business,” said Kayat. “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.”