LONDON, 27 Feb. 2015.Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) has acquired a United Kingdom- and Germany-based aircraft company, 328 Support Services GmbH. The company 328 owns the type certificate and intellectual property (IP) rights for design, manufacturing, maintenance, and certification of the 200 existing Dornier 328 (D328) prop and jet aircraft.
SNC holds IP rights and supplemental type certificates (STCs) for modernization technologies that allow the Dornier 328 aircraft to be used by the U.S. for multimission applications ranging from transport and cargo to surveillance and medical use.
SNC is making a major investment in European markets to expand globally through modern commercial aircraft technologies. During the past decade alone, SNC’s combined capabilities have grown to include design, manufacturing, modification, certification (FAA, EASA, and military), integration and support of approximately 400 aircraft for customers worldwide.
328’s headquarters are in London; its main operations are located at Oberpfaffenhofen Airport, near Munich, Germany. It employs more than 150 aviation experts. SNC anticipates a close working relationship between 328 and its subsidiary, Kansas-based 3S Engineering, in the areas of design and type certification.
“After many years with a close and successful working relationship, this move makes sense at many levels,” explains Dave Jackson, managing director of 328. “328’s expert design, completion and type certification skills are a perfect complement to SNC’s portfolio of capabilities and we look forward to expanding further under the SNC umbrella.”
328 purchased the type certificate for the D328 jet and turboprop, as well as the Dornier 428 and other assets, in December 2005 from Avcraft, which acquired it from Fairchild-Dornier.
Upon acquisition, it concentrated on ensuring maintenance of the existing fleet, providing stability to the D328 aircraft market in terms of support and residual values. This culminated in the successful continuance of aircraft operations into 2015 and beyond.
In addition to continuing the legacy of the Dornier name, 328 has expanded its capabilities to provide an increasing range of services on a host of other aircraft. This includes full STCs, design, and build-and-certify solutions for customers such as Airbus, Lufthansa, and Turkish Technic.
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), headquartered in Sparks, Nevada, is among the “World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Space.” Over the past 30 years, under the leadership of President Eren Ozmen and CEO Fatih Ozmen, SNC has become one of America’s fastest-growing private companies and the Top Woman-Owned Federal Contractor in the United States. With a workforce of over 3,000 personnel in 31 locations in 17 states, SNC has a reputation for rapid, innovative, and agile technology solutions in electronics, aerospace, avionics, space, propulsion, micro-satellite, aircraft, communications systems, and solar energy.
328 offers a broad spectrum of services to the aircraft industry. 328 employs over 180 aviation experts and supports more than 200 aircraft globally. Services offered range from maintenance and painting to STC design activities, parts’ manufacture and support on numerous types of aircraft, bespoke VIP interiors including avionic and IFE upgrades.
