Shandong Bin AO Aircraft Industries (SBAAI), Diamond Aircraft's Chinese production facility has been awarded production authority for the DA40-TDI, Diamond's 4-place, single-engine piston aircraft. The approval, based on the quality procedures in place at Diamond's European manufacturing facility in Austria, was awarded by EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) in cooperation with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and authorizes the production of Diamond DA40-TDI aircraft, including complete composite airframes. The purpose-built 400,000 sq ft Binzhou facility is designed to produce up to 1,000 aircraft per year and will deliver 80 Garmin G1000-equipped DA40-TDIs in 2008, for the Asian market, as it ramps up to full production.

"Our thanks goes to Diamond Aircraft and SBAAI employees, to the departments for international affairs in Europe and in China, and to the Chinese Air Traffic Control, Air Force and local governments," said Gerard Seebacher, Deputy General Manager of SBAAI. "With the outstanding cooperation of all, we have achieved the production approval in just over a year since our grand opening in December 2006."

With manufacturing facilities in Europe (Wiener Neustadt, Austria), North America (London, Ontario Canada) and in China, Diamond Aircraft is truly a global corporation and leading manufacturer of modern general aviation aircraft.