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Airplane maker plans to restart production
Centennial Airport-based jet manufacturer Adam Aircraft plans to bring back 100 employees next month under new ownership after filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in February.
By Holly Cook
Centennial Airport-based jet manufacturer Adam Aircraft plans to bring back 100 employees next month under new ownership after filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in February.
"We're obviously elated that [Adam Aircraft is] restarting the company and that they will come to full strength," said Robert Olislager, manager of Centennial Airport.
"The bankruptcy has had significant and adverse impacts on the number of employees at the airport," Olislager said. "The company will restore a lot of positions but it will be on a much smaller scale."
The company laid off employees at the Centennial Airport after failing to raise enough money to stay in business. Operations were also suspended at the Pueblo and Utah sites one month after the filing.
Adam Aircraft employed 500 people in Colorado and 300 people in Utah prior to going bankrupt. All 800 were laid off, and the company's chairman and chief executive officer, John Wolf, resigned Feb. 15.
Adam Aircraft produces two carbon composite airplanes: the A500, a piston-engined airplane, and the A700, a turbofan-powered jet, Olislagers said.
The new owners, AAI Acquisitions Inc., plan to resurrect Adam Aircraft at Centennial Airport, bringing the A700s back to the market, Olislager said. He said the A700 is a "... low-cost business jet, sometimes called Very Light Jet." The A500 will likely stay off the market because of more fierce competition related to the plane, Olislager said.
"The A700 is a light jet and is relatively inexpensive to produce," he said.
Failure to raise $30.5 million in short-term financing, which would have helped secure $100 million in the long term, forced the jet manufacturer to stop producing the airplanes in Colorado in February.
Rent continued to be paid on the site while production was suspended, Olislager said. However, he said, many businesses suffered as a result.
Before Adam Aircraft filed for bankruptcy, Industrial Investments, the Russian private equity firm that funds AAI Acquisitions Inc., was looking to buy a fleet of A700s from Adam Aircraft to expand air taxi operations.
Industrial Investments, based in Moscow, manages assets worth $3 billion, operates an air-taxi company in Russia, and owns a private jet charter club.
AAI Acquisitions retained about 50 employees from the airport to help with the process for potential bidders, Olislager said. AAI was the only successful bidder, he said.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado April 9 approved AAI Acquisitions Inc. purchase of the assets of Adam Aircraft for $10 million.
The new company won't reopen Adam Aircraft sites in Utah or Pueblo, and it is unknown how many of the 800 employees would be rehired.
303-566-4121 | hcook@ccnewspapers.com
"We're obviously elated that [Adam Aircraft is] restarting the company and that they will come to full strength," said Robert Olislager, manager of Centennial Airport.
"The bankruptcy has had significant and adverse impacts on the number of employees at the airport," Olislager said. "The company will restore a lot of positions but it will be on a much smaller scale."
The company laid off employees at the Centennial Airport after failing to raise enough money to stay in business. Operations were also suspended at the Pueblo and Utah sites one month after the filing.
Adam Aircraft employed 500 people in Colorado and 300 people in Utah prior to going bankrupt. All 800 were laid off, and the company's chairman and chief executive officer, John Wolf, resigned Feb. 15.
Adam Aircraft produces two carbon composite airplanes: the A500, a piston-engined airplane, and the A700, a turbofan-powered jet, Olislagers said.
The new owners, AAI Acquisitions Inc., plan to resurrect Adam Aircraft at Centennial Airport, bringing the A700s back to the market, Olislager said. He said the A700 is a "... low-cost business jet, sometimes called Very Light Jet." The A500 will likely stay off the market because of more fierce competition related to the plane, Olislager said.
"The A700 is a light jet and is relatively inexpensive to produce," he said.
Failure to raise $30.5 million in short-term financing, which would have helped secure $100 million in the long term, forced the jet manufacturer to stop producing the airplanes in Colorado in February.
Rent continued to be paid on the site while production was suspended, Olislager said. However, he said, many businesses suffered as a result.
Before Adam Aircraft filed for bankruptcy, Industrial Investments, the Russian private equity firm that funds AAI Acquisitions Inc., was looking to buy a fleet of A700s from Adam Aircraft to expand air taxi operations.
Industrial Investments, based in Moscow, manages assets worth $3 billion, operates an air-taxi company in Russia, and owns a private jet charter club.
AAI Acquisitions retained about 50 employees from the airport to help with the process for potential bidders, Olislager said. AAI was the only successful bidder, he said.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado April 9 approved AAI Acquisitions Inc. purchase of the assets of Adam Aircraft for $10 million.
The new company won't reopen Adam Aircraft sites in Utah or Pueblo, and it is unknown how many of the 800 employees would be rehired.
303-566-4121 | hcook@ccnewspapers.com
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