Thielert
Encyclopedia
Thielert AG is a German financial holding company which has owned engine development and manufacturing companies. It is headquartered in Hamburg
. Companies owned were Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH with sites in Lichtenstein
, Saxony
and Altenburg
, Thuringia
and Superior Air Parts, Inc. in Dallas, Texas
, USA. Thielert AG is quoted on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
and was a member of the SDAX
. The main operating unit, Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH, declared insolvency on 24 April 2008. Since then the business of the engine manufacturer has been run by the insolvency administrator, Bruno M. Kübler, who has restructured the company and is now looking for a new investor.
The holding company, Thielert AG, also filed insolvency a week later on 30 April 2008 after the loss of its operational unit Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH. The holding company ceased operations in autumn of 2008.
Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH is most well known as the manufacturer of the Centurion range of aircraft diesel engine
s which run on jet fuel
. Two engine models are currently available, the Centurion 2.0 with a power output of either 135 hp (101 kW) and the Centurion 2.0s with 155 hp (116 kW). The development of the third model, a 350 hp (261 kW) Centurion 4.0, is on hold. A fourth model, the 230 hp (172 kW) Centurion 3.2 was announced for 2008, but its final development was cancelled.
New built aircraft equipped with Thielert Centurion engines include:
Kits for the installation of retrofit Thielert engines exist for a number of aircraft, including the Piper PA28 and the Cessna 172
for the Centurion 2.0.
A Thielert Centurion 2.0 engine also powers a UAV
, the General Atomics
Warrior
, an upgraded version of the MQ-1 Predator.
Thielert was furthermore involved in the market for conventional petrol aircraft piston engines as made by Textron Lycoming and Teledyne Continental via its US subsidiary Superior Air Parts, Coppell, Texas
, which designs and distributes (but does not manufacture) spare parts for these engines as an alternative to original spares. Many of these parts, like crankshaft
s, are made by Thielert for its subsidiary. Superior Air Parts also offers a family of four-cylinder aircraft engines, ranging in power output from 150-250 hp (112-187 kW), which are primarily targeted at the homebuilt aircraft
market.
A third field of activity is contract engine development and manufacture of engine parts for prototype
s and small series for the automotive industry.
court, on the basis that the company had breached valuation provisions. As a result of these events the company's stock dropped to a record low of 0.36 Euro
from previous highs of 25.22 Euro on the German stock market.
On 23 April 2008 it was announced that the company Board of Directors had dismissed "with cause" company founder Frank Thielert and also cancelled his employment contract, due to evidence found during a criminal investigation by the Hamburg Office of Criminal Investigation. The allegations included that false invoices had been written, which were used to boost accounts receivable and create the appearance of a better financial position for the company. The board also dismissed Chief Financial Officer Roswitha Grosser and sold off 24.4 million Euros to cover immediate financial requirements.
In April 2008 a stockholder restructuring plan was put on hold and as a result on 24 April 2008 Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH - responsible for all engine production - filed for insolvency at the Chemnitz County Court. As the situation deepened, the Thierlert board stated on 26 April 2008: "The going concern of Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH can only be ensured permanently by restructuring activities with the support of investors, due to the fact that the Holding Thielert AG is not capable to do so anymore." The company announced that it would name a new executive board and an interim insolvency trustee.
In April 2008 Cessna
suspended plans to sell a diesel-equipped Cessna 172TD as a result of the insolvency.
On 01 May 2008 the board appointed a new CEO, lawyer Marcel Kleib and lawyer Achim Ahrendt of Hamburg
was appointed to oversee the insolvency proceedings. On May 5, 2008 bankruptcy administrator attorney Bruno M. Kubler issued a letter to company customers indicating that the business would continue to operate producing engines and parts, meet existing orders, to preserve its capability to reorganize. On 14 May 2008 Thielert announced that it would no longer honour existing engine warranties for engines installed in Diamond Aircraft and also dramatically increased the price of parts. Owners who required warranty work were required to pay cash in advance for parts. This announcement caused an immediate negative reaction from Diamond DA42
owners and also from Diamond Aircraft.
On 18 June 2008 the company announced that it was resuming production of all its diesel engine products, with a production target of 80 units per month. Thielert guaranteed the new engines against defective materials and labor, but parts prices remained at the previously announced high levels.
On 10 July 2008 Diamond Aircraft announced that it was dropping out of the bidding to purchase Thielert, citing that Thielert withheld key information "vital to the due diligence process", although Thielert disagreed. On Friday 11 July 2008, Thielert issued a press release stating: "the reasons Diamond is presenting for its non-participation are clearly pretext". Thielert implied that Diamond was not a serious prospective buyer and that "Diamond's actions clearly serve the purpose of derogating Thielert's reputation in the naive assumption to be able to subsequently purchase Thielert far under value."
As part of its insolvency, Thielert indicated that it would not honor warranties or inspect and replace life-limited parts as was the case when the engines were sold to customers. This change in policy has resulted in Thielert-powered aircraft being grounded or no longer economically viable to fly. In November 2008 Diamond Aircraft CEO Peter Maurer said the insolvency commissioner responsible for Thielert's restructuring has come to understand that the eventual sale of the company will depend on product support. This led to Thielert reducing the cost of parts and actively working on extending inspection and replacement requirements for gearbox clutches as well as other parts.
In January 2009, Bruno M. Kübler, Thielert's insolvency administrator announced that the company was, "in the black and working to capacity". On 6 April 2009 the company announced that insolvency administrator had "transferred the company’s operative new business to a company that is unaffected by the insolvency proceedings". The new company Centurion Aircraft Engines is responsible for sales of Centurion diesel engines and spare parts, worldwide.
At the end of November 2010 the company was making a profit and actively seeking new investors. Kübler indicated that major lending institutions have loosened credit enough that investment is more likely than it was in 2008 or 2009.
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. Companies owned were Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH with sites in Lichtenstein
Lichtenstein, Germany
Lichtenstein is a town in the Zwickau district, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 11 km northeast of Zwickau, and 22 km southwest of Chemnitz.-See also:...
, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
and Altenburg
Altenburg
Altenburg is a town in the German federal state of Thuringia, 45 km south of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district.-Geography:...
, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
and Superior Air Parts, Inc. in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, USA. Thielert AG is quoted on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
Frankfurt Stock Exchange
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange is the world's 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization. Located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is owned and operated by Deutsche Börse, which also owns the European futures exchange Eurex and the clearing company...
and was a member of the SDAX
SDAX
The SDAX is a stock market index composed of 50 small and medium-sized companies in Germany. These so-called small caps rank directly below the MDAX shares in terms of order book volume and market capitalization...
. The main operating unit, Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH, declared insolvency on 24 April 2008. Since then the business of the engine manufacturer has been run by the insolvency administrator, Bruno M. Kübler, who has restructured the company and is now looking for a new investor.
The holding company, Thielert AG, also filed insolvency a week later on 30 April 2008 after the loss of its operational unit Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH. The holding company ceased operations in autumn of 2008.
Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH is most well known as the manufacturer of the Centurion range of aircraft diesel engine
Aircraft diesel engine
The aircraft diesel engine or aero diesel has not been widely used as an aircraft engine. Diesel engines were used in airships and were tried in aircraft in the late 1920s and 1930s, but never "caught on" in a major fashion...
s which run on jet fuel
Jet fuel
Jet fuel is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is clear to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial aviation are Jet A and Jet A-1 which are produced to a standardized international specification...
. Two engine models are currently available, the Centurion 2.0 with a power output of either 135 hp (101 kW) and the Centurion 2.0s with 155 hp (116 kW). The development of the third model, a 350 hp (261 kW) Centurion 4.0, is on hold. A fourth model, the 230 hp (172 kW) Centurion 3.2 was announced for 2008, but its final development was cancelled.
Products
- Diamond DA40 Diamond Star (Centurion 2.0)
- Diamond DA42 Twin Star (Centurion 2.0)
- Apex AircraftApex AircraftApex Aircraft is a French company devoted to light aeroplane manufacture. It markets three ranges of light aircraft which it brands Robin, Alpha and CAP...
's Robin DR400Robin DR400|- References :*Exavia Ltd - article "A DR400 Buyers' Guide"* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft , 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 2799...
135 CDI Ecoflyer (Centurion 2.0) - Cessna 172 Skyhawk TD (Centurion 2.0 S) - Development suspended May 2008
Kits for the installation of retrofit Thielert engines exist for a number of aircraft, including the Piper PA28 and the Cessna 172
Cessna 172
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing fixed-wing aircraft. First flown in 1955 and still in production, more Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft.-Design and development:...
for the Centurion 2.0.
A Thielert Centurion 2.0 engine also powers a UAV
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
, the General Atomics
General Atomics
General Atomics is a nuclear physics and defense contractor headquartered in San Diego, California. General Atomics’ research into fission and fusion matured into competencies in related technologies, allowing the company to expand into other fields of research...
Warrior
MQ-1C Warrior
|-See also:-External links:* * * * *...
, an upgraded version of the MQ-1 Predator.
Thielert was furthermore involved in the market for conventional petrol aircraft piston engines as made by Textron Lycoming and Teledyne Continental via its US subsidiary Superior Air Parts, Coppell, Texas
Coppell, Texas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 35,958 people, 12,211 households, and 9,781 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,418.5 people per square mile . There were 12,587 housing units at an average density of 846.6 per square mile...
, which designs and distributes (but does not manufacture) spare parts for these engines as an alternative to original spares. Many of these parts, like crankshaft
Crankshaft
The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an engine which translates reciprocating linear piston motion into rotation...
s, are made by Thielert for its subsidiary. Superior Air Parts also offers a family of four-cylinder aircraft engines, ranging in power output from 150-250 hp (112-187 kW), which are primarily targeted at the homebuilt aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, homebuilt aircraft are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch," from plans, or from assembly kits.-Overview:...
market.
A third field of activity is contract engine development and manufacture of engine parts for prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
s and small series for the automotive industry.
Production
From the start of serial production in 2002 to 2010, over 3,000 Centurion engines have been made which have collected over 2,5 million flight hours. Today's production rate is approximately 350 to 400 engines per year.2008-09 insolvency
On 6 March 2008 Thielert's financial statements for 2003, 2004 and 2005 were nullified by a HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
court, on the basis that the company had breached valuation provisions. As a result of these events the company's stock dropped to a record low of 0.36 Euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
from previous highs of 25.22 Euro on the German stock market.
On 23 April 2008 it was announced that the company Board of Directors had dismissed "with cause" company founder Frank Thielert and also cancelled his employment contract, due to evidence found during a criminal investigation by the Hamburg Office of Criminal Investigation. The allegations included that false invoices had been written, which were used to boost accounts receivable and create the appearance of a better financial position for the company. The board also dismissed Chief Financial Officer Roswitha Grosser and sold off 24.4 million Euros to cover immediate financial requirements.
In April 2008 a stockholder restructuring plan was put on hold and as a result on 24 April 2008 Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH - responsible for all engine production - filed for insolvency at the Chemnitz County Court. As the situation deepened, the Thierlert board stated on 26 April 2008: "The going concern of Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH can only be ensured permanently by restructuring activities with the support of investors, due to the fact that the Holding Thielert AG is not capable to do so anymore." The company announced that it would name a new executive board and an interim insolvency trustee.
In April 2008 Cessna
Cessna
The Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
suspended plans to sell a diesel-equipped Cessna 172TD as a result of the insolvency.
On 01 May 2008 the board appointed a new CEO, lawyer Marcel Kleib and lawyer Achim Ahrendt of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
was appointed to oversee the insolvency proceedings. On May 5, 2008 bankruptcy administrator attorney Bruno M. Kubler issued a letter to company customers indicating that the business would continue to operate producing engines and parts, meet existing orders, to preserve its capability to reorganize. On 14 May 2008 Thielert announced that it would no longer honour existing engine warranties for engines installed in Diamond Aircraft and also dramatically increased the price of parts. Owners who required warranty work were required to pay cash in advance for parts. This announcement caused an immediate negative reaction from Diamond DA42
Diamond DA42
The Diamond DA42 Twin Star is a four seat, twin engine, propeller-driven airplane manufactured by Diamond Aircraft Industries. Its airframe is molded largely of composite materials.-Development:...
owners and also from Diamond Aircraft.
On 18 June 2008 the company announced that it was resuming production of all its diesel engine products, with a production target of 80 units per month. Thielert guaranteed the new engines against defective materials and labor, but parts prices remained at the previously announced high levels.
On 10 July 2008 Diamond Aircraft announced that it was dropping out of the bidding to purchase Thielert, citing that Thielert withheld key information "vital to the due diligence process", although Thielert disagreed. On Friday 11 July 2008, Thielert issued a press release stating: "the reasons Diamond is presenting for its non-participation are clearly pretext". Thielert implied that Diamond was not a serious prospective buyer and that "Diamond's actions clearly serve the purpose of derogating Thielert's reputation in the naive assumption to be able to subsequently purchase Thielert far under value."
As part of its insolvency, Thielert indicated that it would not honor warranties or inspect and replace life-limited parts as was the case when the engines were sold to customers. This change in policy has resulted in Thielert-powered aircraft being grounded or no longer economically viable to fly. In November 2008 Diamond Aircraft CEO Peter Maurer said the insolvency commissioner responsible for Thielert's restructuring has come to understand that the eventual sale of the company will depend on product support. This led to Thielert reducing the cost of parts and actively working on extending inspection and replacement requirements for gearbox clutches as well as other parts.
In January 2009, Bruno M. Kübler, Thielert's insolvency administrator announced that the company was, "in the black and working to capacity". On 6 April 2009 the company announced that insolvency administrator had "transferred the company’s operative new business to a company that is unaffected by the insolvency proceedings". The new company Centurion Aircraft Engines is responsible for sales of Centurion diesel engines and spare parts, worldwide.
At the end of November 2010 the company was making a profit and actively seeking new investors. Kübler indicated that major lending institutions have loosened credit enough that investment is more likely than it was in 2008 or 2009.