Hard times for Thielert
Thielert, the German company producing the diesel engines that equip the DA40 and the C172 TD, is facing up with a severe financial crisis. I don’t understand all the details of such things, but the recent events are not good: the CEO (Mr. Thielert) has been put aside, then the board has been revoked, and now the company filed for insolvency.
The Thielert share at Frankfurt stock exchange closed at a very low 0.43 EUR, and the last press release are all about restructuring activities, and so on. All information is available on their website, www.thielert.com.
When I saw the first bad signs, I decided not to write about it. It sounded like a move from family to financial business. But now the situation seems much more serious, and the future of the company could be at risk.
It’s strange to think that a company with a good product, matching the real need of numerous customers can be threatened by financial errors. There is probably nothing to do as pilot to change the situation, but I sincerely hope this product won’t just disappear.
Thielert has been the vector of one of the last major changes in general aviation. Yes they have competitors, and I’m sure that even if the company disappears, the technology will survive.
Opponents to aero-diesel engines will probably use this financial mishap to feed their flow of critics, but fans and “evangelists” like me will continue to support the modernization of general aviation engines. Anyway, with an oil barrel at 120USD, we’d better have to find economical solutions…
I wish the best possible future to Thielert. The next months won’t be fun, but keep doing a good job, and you’ll find a way out of this bad financial situation !
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Category: Speaker's Corner
Tags: Diesel engines Thielert
