September 6, 2007
75 years: Hawker Beechcraft is solid

From surviving the Depression to its purchase by Onex Corp. and GS Partners in March, the aircraft company continues to meet the needs of the times.

Since the former Beech Aircraft Corp. built its first Model 17 Staggerwing, it has been the people who have kept the business going for the past 75 years, the company's top official said.

"You can't survive if you don't have great people across the company," said Jim Schuster, chief executive of what is now Hawker Beechcraft.

The company, founded by Walter and Olive Ann Beech in 1932, has overcome many obstacles in its 75-year history.

It survived the Depression and other economic downturns, product miscues like the Beech Starship and near bankruptcy.

During World War II, the company built more than 7,400 airplanes for the U.S. and Allied armed forces.

In 1947, it introduced the Beech Bonanza, later adding a turboprop, Hawker and Beechjet business jets and a commuter airliner to its product line.

It also won the U.S. Air Force and Navy Joint Primary Aircraft Training System contract to supply trainers to the government.

The company has changed ownership twice since it was founded.

The most recent change was March 26 when Onex Corp. and GS Capital Partners -- a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs -- bought the company from Raytheon Co., the parent of Raytheon Aircraft Co.

The company became a subsidiary of Raytheon Co. in 1980. In 1993, Raytheon acquired Raytheon Corporate Jets, which produced the Hawker jet line, from British Aerospace.

In 1994, Beech Aircraft and Raytheon Corporate Jets merged to form Raytheon Aircraft.

The March sale began a new chapter in the company's history, officials say. To succeed for the next 75 years, Hawker Beechcraft must overcome many challenges ahead.

It must continue to shorten product cycles and upgrade and improve products, Schuster said, and it must focus on customer service and support.

And it must prepare to compete globally. About half of its orders come from customers outside the U.S.

"It's a different industry in a different marketplace with different pressures," Schuster said. "Complacency is our greatest risk."



As seen in The Wichita Eagle

Article by Molly McMillin