Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) and the Czech Republic's Aero Vodochody are to dissolve their Ibis Aerospace joint venture.
"Ibis is a nightmare, a disaster for our company," says AIDC chairman Kent Feng. "Almost everything that could go wrong has gone wrong with this venture. It is best to be practical and liquidate the joint venture."
The 50:50 joint venture was formed in 1997 to manufacture and produce the Ae270 single-engined turboprop, which Aero has worked on since 1990. The aircraft was designed to carry around 10 passengers and cruise at speeds of up to 260kt (480km/h). But it has faced production and certification delays over the last decade, and received US approval only in March 2006.
AIDC had planned to pull out several years ago, but was dissuaded by its partners, and at one stage it appeared as though the Taiwanese and Czech governments might become partners in the project. But the writing was on the wall after Penta took over the debt-laden Czech firm late last year and the new owners said they would review the Ae270 programme.
Penta co-owner Marek Dospiva said then he did not think Aero Vodochody could still design and produce complete aircraft - an ambition that had led the company to a debt of Ckr10 billion ($490 million). The company should focus on securing additional work for Sikorsky, and have similar projects with BAE Systems, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Piaggio and Rolls-Royce, he said.
Feng cannot confirm when the joint venture, into which AIDC has pumped in more than $30 million, would be dissolved or if Aero would persist with the Ae270 project. Industry sources say this is highly unlikely given Penta's desire to curb costs. "The project was political from the start, with the governments wanting the companies to invest in a joint venture that had very limited prospects. This is really no surprise," says one source.
Source: Flight International
