The DIMOR Group says it intends to continue manufacturing its Junkers line of light aircraft but will do so in Germany and shutter its Waco Aircraft Corporation manufacturing and maintenance bases in Battle Creek, Michigan. As we reported on Wednesday, the company told most of its 60 Waco employees not to report for work anymore effective Wednesday. Its Centennial FBO and the San Francisco Latin American Cuisine restaurant will continue to operate. “This decision was reached after careful deliberation,” the company said in a news release formally announcing the move. “Rising production costs, coupled with ongoing limitations in market demand, rendered continued U.S. production unsustainable.” The full news release is copied below.
The production of the Junkers A50 Junior, A50 Heritage, and A60 aircraft will continue to be produced in Germany. The Junkers planes are built in Oberndorf. The production of the Waco line of retro style biplanes with modern avionics and safety features has ceased, and there has been no announcement on whether it’s for sale and whether parts and support will be available for the existing fleet. DIMOR bought Waco from American owners in 2018.
Well I guess us existing Waco owners will be out of luck for parts availability. Hopefully an aftermarket supplier will pick up the slack.
Russ, I am hearing that they were only producing about 1 Waco per year and perhaps a handful of Great Lakes biplanes. It seems like a staff of 60 for that level of production might have been part of the problem. Am I missing something?
Beautiful airplanes, I hope they can figure out how to at least support the current owners.
Since 2019, between 1 and 3 YMFs have been delivered each year. Delivery data here: https://gama.aero/facts-and-statistics/quarterly-shipments-and-billings/
We all love the nostalgia of vintage airplanes like the WACO and the Junkers, so cool to see one on a ramp, but it’s a very small buyers market – I can’t see the business case making sense. This closing was unfortunate and foreseeable, sadly I would expect a similar announcement at Junkers sometime in the future.