Австриялық ұшақ өндірушісі: Diamond Aircraft Industries туралы мәліметтер

Aircraft manufacturer located in Austria

Diamond Aircraft Industries is a European manufacturer of general aviation aircraft and motor gliders, based in Austria. It has been a subsidiary of the Chinese company Wanfeng Aviation since 2017. It is the third largest manufacturer of aircraft for the general aviation sector, and has manufacturing facilities in Wiener Neustadt, Lower Austria, and in London, Ontario, Canada, as well as further production lines operated as joint ventures in other nations, such as China. The company was founded by Austrian aircraft designer Wolf Hoffmann in 1981, at which point it was known as Hoffmann Flugzeugbau. Its first aircraft, a motor glider initially known as the HK36 Dimona, became a commercial success and led to improved models and further types of aircraft derived from it. Following several changes in ownership and naming, the company received the name Diamond Aircraft Industries in 1998. By this point, Diamond was producing a range of light aircraft, including the Dimona, the Diamond DA20, and the in development Diamond DA40. In 2004, Diamond introduced its first multi engined aircraft, the Diamond DA42 Twin Star. Demand from government operators led to the development of the Aeronautics Defense Dominator, a medium altitude long endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used for aerial surveillance. For several years, the company was developing a single engined very light jet, the Diamond D Jet, intended for both private and military customers. However, due to the Great Recession, development of the jet slowed and was ultimately discontinued in 2013.

In 1981, a new company, Hoffmann Flugzeugbau, was founded by aircraft designer Wolf Hoffmann in Friesach, Carinthia, Austria; it was formed with the ambition of becoming a major aircraft manufacturer for general aviation purposes. According to Michael Feinig, a future managing director of the company, the firm's leadership had recognised that there was a market for a range of modern light aircraft, and that the general aviation sector had been then dominated by mostly old designs from established manufacturers. By taking advantage of innovations in avionics and manufacturing technologies, the market could be entered by a capable competitor. In 1992, as a measure to establish a strong foothold with the competitive North American market, owner Christian Dries decided to launch a second manufacturing facility located in London, Ontario, Canada. By this point, the company considered itself to be secure in its dominance of the European market, and sought to be embraced by American operators as well. The wider market for general aircraft had plummeted as an impact of the Great Recession; the gradual recovery from this event would take many years and would not be without consequence on several of Diamond's existing production lines and development programmes.

In March 2011, the president and CEO of Diamond Aircraft Canada, Peter Maurer, indicated that his company's future was in doubt and relied on getting the D Jet to market, as piston sales remained slow since the start of the Great Recession in 2007. To get the D Jet into production the company found $20 million in private investment, plus the commitment of an additional $35 million from the Government of Ontario. The Ontario government investment was contingent on Diamond also securing an additional $35 million from the Government of Canada. If both federal and provincial loans were provided then, combined with funds already provided, the total provincial and federal government investment would have been $100 million. Maurer indicated "If we don’t get the funding from the federal government, it puts us in a difficult situation. If the D JET, for example, in a case scenario, were not to continue it would have a negative impact on the rest of the company’s operations. [The debts are] at a level that would be very difficult to satisfy out of piston sales," he said. "I’ll let you do the extrapolation." By the end of March 2011, with a federal election in full swing and no sign of the requested federal government loans coming, the company laid off 213 London based employees, mostly on the D Jet program. Company CEO Peter Maurer stated, "We are hopeful that the government will give this matter urgent attention and provide the requested assistance". During April, Diamond indicated that it needed C$8M from the federal government over the next four months as an interim measure. Local Conservative Party of Canada Member of Parliament Ed Holder stated that Diamond owner Christian Dries had told him that he would close the London plant and announce the closure just before the federal election if support was not forthcoming. Dries issued a denial of the conversation, but Holder insisted that was correct and suggested that Diamond look to the province or the city for the money instead. Following the 2 May 2011 federal election, which returned a majority Conservative government, Industry Minister Tony Clement announced that the government had rejected Diamond's loan request. Clement stated "We are stewards of taxpayers dollars and we have risked, quite rightly, $20 million in taxpayer dollars to date, and it is not judicious to up that by another $35 million. We hope the company Diamond continues to be part of the scene in London. We do not wish for its demise." Maurer indicated that the company was still working on private investment options but that would take more time and that in the meantime they were continuing to lose their laid off staff. He also stated, "We have been very clear that without this loan, the D Jet program is at risk here in London. Diamond’s future is at risk here." Maurer indicated that when upcoming loan repayments are due that the company cannot meet those obligations out of propeller aircraft sales and without an infusion of capital cannot get the D Jet to market. On 13 November 2011, Diamond announced that a majority share of Diamond Aircraft Holdings, Canada, the Canadian operating arm of the company, had been sold to Medrar Financial Group, an investment company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates for an undisclosed amount. The move was intended to provide continued production of the company's piston engine line and also allow development of the D Jet project to continue. The announcement of the investment, along with gradually improving economic conditions, seemed to increase customer confidence as the company registered a 33% increase in sales in 2011 over the previous year. Diamond delivered 185 aircraft in 2011, compared to 139 in 2010. However, the sale to Medrar was never completed as a result of the firm failed to come up with the agreed money. Diamond continued operations, using funding from its own shareholders. In late February 2013, having not located further operational funding, the company laid off the majority of its Canadian staff and ceased work on the D Jet program, indicating that the company needed to reorganize. Staff working on completing aircraft orders and parts support were retained. On 13 December 2016 Diamond sold a 60% share of its Diamond Aircraft Canada operation to the Wanfeng Aviation, part of Chinese conglomerate Wanfeng Auto Holding Group. Diamond Aircraft characterized the sale as a "strategic reinvestment" and indicated that the move would allow a re assessment of the suspended D Jet program. At the April 2017 AERO Friedrichshafen show, along with diesel variants of the DA50, the composite Diamond DART 280 light single piston engined helicopter concept was launched. It will compete with the Robinson R44 with a MTOW and a 280 shp (208 kW) four stroke jet fuel engine. A first flight was scheduled for the autumn of 2018, with certification forecast for a year later but this did not come to pass. In December 2017, Wanfeng Aviation purchased the remainder of the shares in Diamond. At the December 2018 MEBAA, the Saudi Arabian National Company of Aviation CAE Inc. Training Centre in Dammam ordered 60 single engine DA40 NG and twin engine DA42 VI, to be delivered over five years, with Garmin G1000 NXi glass panels and diesel engines.