Diamond Aircraft

Diamond Aircraft Industries is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft and powered sailplanes based in Wiener Neustadt, Lower Austria, Austria. Since 2017, it has been a subsidiary of China's Wanfeng Aviation.[2] It is the third-largest manufacturer of aircraft for the general aviation sector and has operating facilities in both Lower Austria and Ontario, Canada, as well as further production lines operating through joint ventures in other countries such as China.

The company was founded by Austrian aircraft designer Wolf Hoffmann in 1981 and was then known as Hoffmann Flugzeugbau. Its first aircraft, a motor glider, initially known as the HK36 Dimona, was a commercial success and led to improved models and derived subsequent aircraft types. After several ownership and name changes, the company was renamed Diamond Aircraft Industries in 1998.

Company history

In 1981, aircraft designer Wolf Hoffmann founded a new company, Hoffmann Flugzeugbau, in Friesach, Carinthia, Austria; it was founded with the ambition of becoming a major manufacturer of aircraft for general aviation purposes. According to Michael Feinig, the company's future managing director, the company's management recognized that there was a market for a range of modern light aircraft and that the general aviation sector at the time was dominated mainly by old designs from established manufacturers. By taking advantage of innovations in avionics and manufacturing technologies, a capable competitor could enter the market.

Hoffmann Flugzeugbau quickly set about developing a suitable aircraft with which to introduce its product line. Accordingly, in the early 1980s, the company began production of a two-seat, all-composite motor glider, initially known as the H36 Dimona. The H36 demonstrated the company's ambition to improve the quality and performance of such aircraft while making them available at competitive prices. The type was successful, becoming the best-selling motor glider in Europe, and by 2004 four separate versions of the Dimona - which were marketed as the HK36 Super Dimona or Xtreme - were available for sale.

In 1985, the company changed its name to Hoffman Aircraft Limited and became a subsidiary of Simmering-Graz-Pauker AG, which resulted in the relocation of the company's headquarters to Vienna. In 1987, the company reopened its main production facility in Wiener Neustadt, Lower Austria. In the late 1980s, amid various corporate changes in both identity and ownership, the company's management continued to work to rapidly expand Hoffman's product range.

In line with this mission, it was decided to develop a new HK36R two-seater aircraft based on the H36 Dimona. This resulted in the production of the DV20 Katana, a two-seat light aircraft powered by the Rotax 912, which was the company's first production general aviation aircraft.

In 1991, the name of Hoffman's parent company was renamed HOAC AG and was purchased by the Dries family.

In 1992, in an effort to gain a strong foothold in the competitive North American market, owner Christian Dries decided to set up a second production facility located in London, Ontario, Canada. At this point, the company felt confident of its dominance in the European market and sought to be embraced by US operators as well. Prior to 1996, the Canadian subsidiary operated under the name Dimona Aircraft, which was changed to Diamond Aircraft in 1996, while the parent company remained HOAC at the time.

In 1993, the DV20 Katana, manufactured in Austria, received a type approval certificate. According to aviation publication Flight International, the DV20 "confirmed Diamond as a serious contender for the light aircraft crown."

An improved DV20, designated the DA20, was developed for North America and produced in Canada; the first Canadian-made DA20 was delivered in 1995. That same year, it received Flight magazine's Eagle Award for best light aircraft. Delivery of the 500th DV20 took place in 1997; also that year saw the introduction of the DA20-C1, which improved performance and load capabilities. The DA20-C1 Eclipse (an improved version of the DA20-C1) also entered production.

In 1998, the name of the parent company was changed to Diamond Aircraft GmbH to better align it with the North American naming convention. That same year, the company also purchased Wiener Neustadt East Airport. The company continued to develop a number of new aircraft types to further develop its product line; these were developed in accordance with the prevailing philosophy of seeking aircraft that had no equivalent in terms of performance to any existing mainstream product manufactured by any of the competing manufacturers; this was a measure to consciously avoid instances of direct competition.

In 1997, the four-seat IFR Diamond DA40 aircraft was certified; it was followed by the dual diesel DA42 in 2004. According to Flight International, the DA40 was able to outperform many similar aircraft, which at the time carried a much higher purchase cost than the DA40 equipped with its basic configuration. Launched in 2001, the DA40TDI was the first production aircraft powered by a single diesel-based piston engine.

In 2002, a new program was launched to develop an aircraft equipped with twin diesel engines, the Diamond DA42 Twin Star. In May 2004. DA42 was certified. Even before it entered service, an extensive order book for the DA42 had already been accumulated and plans were under discussion to develop a dedicated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform based on the type. It would be introduced as the Aeronautics Defense Dominator, a medium-altitude endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft that was used for aerial surveillance tasks.

In 2003, Diamond announced the launch of a light jet program, known as the Diamond D-Jet. This five-seat single-engine jet was aimed at the emerging market for ultra-light jets, and was considered a major diversification for the company. Nevertheless, Feinig was confident about the potential demand for this type of aircraft, forecasting that about 15 percent of demand for the D-Jet would come from Diamond's existing customers. Development of the D-Jet, unlike most of the company's programs, would be protracted due to a number of factors, both technical and fiscal.[6]

In 2004, Feinig outlined the company's ambitions: "Our vision is to be number one in the production of single and twin propeller vehicles ... and we intend to maintain this position within five years." In 2001, aircraft deliveries totaled 176; in 2003, deliveries rose to 263. In 2004, deliveries were projected to increase to as many as 850 aircraft per year in 2008. In 2005, the company announced a joint venture to produce the DA-40 light aircraft in China.

In 2004, the company opened a new 100,000-square-foot (9300 m2) composite plant in Austria; it produced wings and fuselages for the DA42 and the under-development D-Jet, and supported Diamond's ambitions to increase annual production capacity to 600 aircraft, about half of which will be shipped to Canada for final assembly. Also in 2004, a new supply-oriented subsidiary called Diamond Aircraft Croatia was established to produce labor-intensive composite parts at a new, purpose-built factory in Varaždin, Croatia.

In December 2008, the company informed employees by mail that they would be laying off 100 employees from the company's Austrian plant in Wiener Neustadt due to the economic situation. At the time, the plant employed 700 of the company's 2,100 employees worldwide. The broader market for general-purpose aircraft declined sharply as a result of the Great Recession; a gradual recovery from that event would take many years and would not be without consequences for Diamond's several existing production lines and development programs.

In March 2011, Diamond Aircraft Canada's president and CEO, Peter Maurer, indicated that the future of his company was in question and decided to bring D-Jet to market because piston sales had remained low since the start of the Great Recession in 2007. To bring D-Jet into production, the company raised $20 million in private investment and a commitment of an additional $35 million from the Ontario government. The Ontario government's investment was contingent on Diamond securing an additional $35 million from the Government of Canada. If federal and provincial loans were then provided, combined with the funds already made available, the total investment by the provincial and federal governments would be $100 million. Maurer pointed out: "If we don't receive funds from the federal government, it puts us in a difficult situation. If, for example, D-JET in a worse-case scenario were not to continue, it would have a negative impact on the rest of the company's business. "The debt is at a level that would be very difficult to repay from the sale of Pistons," he said. 

By the end of March 2011, with the federal election in full swing and no indication of the arrival of the requested federal government loans, the company had laid off 213 employees in London, mostly under the D-Jet program. The company's CEO, Peter Maurer, stated: "We hope that the government will pay urgent attention to this matter and provide the requested assistance." In April, Diamond indicated that it needed $8 million Canadian dollars 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 told him he would close the London plant and announce the closure just before the federal election if there was no support. Dries denied the conversation, but Holder insisted it was true and suggested that Diamond should instead turn to the province or the city for money.

Following the May 2, 2011 federal election, which resulted in 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 to date we have risked, quite rightly, $20 million of taxpayers' dollars, and it is unreasonable to increase that amount by another $35 million. We hope that Diamond will continue to be a part of the London scene we don't want to see its demise." Maurer indicated that the company is still working on private investment options, but that this will take more time and that in the meantime it continues to lose laid-off employees. He also stated: "We have made it 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 as the loan nears repayment, the company will not be able to repay these obligations from the sale of the propeller aircraft, and without the capital injection it will not be able to bring D-Jet to market.

On November 13, 2011, Diamond announced that a majority stake in Diamond Aircraft Holdings, Canada, the company's Canadian operating arm, had been sold to Medrar Financial Group, an investment firm based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for an undisclosed sum. The move was aimed at ensuring the continuation of production of the company's piston engine line, as well as enabling further development of the D-Jet project. The announcement of the investment, along with the gradually improving economic situation, seemed to boost customer confidence, as the company reported a 33% year-on-year increase in sales in 2011. Diamond delivered 185 aircraft in 2011, compared to 139 in 2010.

However, the sale to Medrar was never finalized, as the company did not hand over the agreed money. Diamond continued to operate using shareholders' funds. At the end of February 2013, finding no further operating funds, the company laid off most of its Canadian staff and stopped working on the D-Jet program, citing the need to reorganize the company. Staff working on aircraft order processing and parts handling were retained. By mid-2014, some employees had returned to work.

In March 2012, the company's CEO Christian Dries indicated that the 2008-2010 recession had changed the company's market orientation, and that the company derives two-thirds of its revenue from military and government contracts, mainly for manned and unmanned surveillance versions of its DA42. In April 2012, the company announced Diamond Hero, a helicopter-shaped unmanned aircraft that operates autonomously.

On December 13, 2016. Diamond sold a 60% stake in its Diamond Aircraft Canada business to 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 it to re-evaluate its suspended D-Jet program.[23]

The Diamond DART 280 composite lightweight single-piston helicopter concept was unveiled at the AERO exhibition in Friedrichshafen in April 2017, along with diesel variants of the DA50. It will compete with the Robinson R44 with a maximum gross weight of 1,350 kg (2,980 lbs) and a four-stroke jet fuel engine with 280 hp (208 kW). The first flight was scheduled for the fall of 2018, and certification was planned for a year later, but that didn't happen.

In December 2017, Wanfeng Aviation purchased the remaining shares in Diamond.

During the MEBAA conference in December 2018. Saudi National Aviation-CAE Inc. Training Center in Dammam ordered 60 single-engine DA40 NG and twin-engine DA42-VI with delivery over five years, along with Garmin G1000 NXi glass panels and diesel engines....

Source; WIKIPEDIA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Aircraft_Industries

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