At first glance, the photo might ignite a game of “which doesn’t belong and why.” But when it bought Quest Aircraft last year and renamed it Kodiak after the utility aircraft of the same name, Dahar concluded just the opposite.
With growth hard to come by in a single-engine turboprop market that appears to be well served if not saturated, Daher saw Kodiak as an opportunity buy that could, at the stroke of a pen, not quite double its aircraft production.
“We believe this aircraft is going to open up some markets that the TBM can’t tackle. We believe Kodiak is going to have more use for skydiving and it’s a good platform for law enforcement applications.” says Dahar’s Nicolas Chabbert.
Those are market segments the TBM will likely never crack. Daher plans to keep Kodiak sited right where it is in Sandpoint, Idaho. It will spend the rest of the year gaining a better feel for the business before making decisions on potential integration.
“They have some metal working capability that is of interest to us. In Tarbes we are known for metal stretching and forming and that is of interest to Kodiak,” Chabbert said.
