Kestrel Aircraft behind on rent, cuts benefits
Kestrel Aircraft Co., an airplane manufacturing startup at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, is behind on paying its rent and vendors, but the company’s CEO says he expects a new source of financing to come through in the near future.
The Bangor Daily News reported that the company has also cut health, life and dental insurance after it failed to pay premiums for its employees. A current employee, whom the paper allowed to speak anonymously for fear of retaliation, said late last week that the company was behind in paying vendors and is behind schedule in making a prototype of its turboprop single-engine plane.
CEO Alan Klapmeier confirmed that the prototype, originally scheduled to take flight in January, is behind schedule one year. Klapmeier told the paper that the company “has been short of cash” and is working on financing for the project.
The trade publication Aviation International News reported the company needs to raise $125 million to get the aircraft through Federal Aviation Administration certification.
Industry watchers told the paper that such struggles with financing are typical for aircraft startups. Early last year, the company announced its decision to move its manufacturing to Superior, Wis., after touting the potential to add 600 jobs at its Brunswick facility by 2016.
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