Quest Aircraft says it has attracted some equity investment that will help it boost production and expand its service network. The company, which certified the highly regarded Kodiak utility aircraft in 2007, did not disclose who the investors are or how much money is involved. The aircraft is a clean-sheet design that was developed by a consortium of missionary flying groups to be a purpose-built back-country airplane for mission work. There are plenty of other applications for an airplane with the STOL and payload capabilities of the Kodiak and they're in service in a variety of roles in the U.S. Canada, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and South Africa. In a statement, CEO Paul Schaller said the new money is part of Quest's long-term plan.
"The last two years have been extremely challenging for the aviation industry, and Quest is no exception," Schaller said. "We have injected equity into Quest which allows us to significantly reduce debt, ramp up production and invest in customer service centers." The money will also help it ramp up marketing efforts. It has six sales people located throughout the U.S. and will have a display at Sun 'n Fun for the first time this year.
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