German Parent Company Goes Bankrupt…
Quebec-based OMF Aircraft, which produces the $120,000, 160-hp, 128-knot, high-wing Glastar look-alike, the Symphony 160, says it will be back in production by May despite the financial collapse of its parent company, OMF GmbH, in Germany on Tuesday. OMF Aircraft, which was 70-percent owned by the German company, will reorganize into a stand-alone enterprise and continue with plans to manufacture and develop three aircraft lines. “To do this is actually relatively straightforward,” CEO Paul Costanzo said in a telephone news conference Wednesday. The first step is to obtain Transport Canada type and production certification for the Symphony 160, which is currently built by the company in Quebec. Production stopped two weeks ago when the supply of parts for the eight planes under construction dried up from the parent company. Costanzo said he expects Transport Canada approvals to take four to six months, during which time he intends to line up North American suppliers for the parts.
