Workhorse ramps up drone business with new division chief

Workhorse Group is placing heightened importance on its drone business by naming the first president of its aerospace business.

Loveland-based Workhorse (Nasdaq: WKHS) promoted John Graber to the newly created title of president – aerospace to oversee the drone sector of the electric vehicle maker’s business.

Graber has been leading Workhorse’s development of its HorseFly last-mile drone delivery program since March 2020. As president of aerospace, Graber’s duties and areas of oversight are expanded. He now oversees the company’s unmanned aerial systems business and reports directly to CEO Duane Hughes.

“John has played a crucial role in the development of our HorseFly system and aerospace division over the past few years,” Hughes said in a news release. “Safe, reliable, and efficient operations drive everything we do in the last-mile space. As an experienced senior executive with deep subject matter expertise, John understands our goal better than anyone.”

Workhorse’s HorseFly drone system is integrated with its electric delivery vehicles and can deliver packages from trucks to homes and offices. It’s intended to save drivers time. UPS is testing the system.

Workhorse views 2021 as “a major development year” for its aerospace business, Hughes said. It plans to work through the Federal Aviation Administration’s certification process while finalizing its designs. The company plans to “build more aircraft systems than we have before,” Hughes said. “And we have the right team in place to get the job done.”

Graber said Workhorse’s aerospace group aims to help customers safely, reliably and autonomously fly “a practical payload a meaningful distance, making the entire delivery process more effective and efficient.”

expand

Courtesy Workhorse Group

Graber, 64, has worked in the aerospace industry for decades. He was managing partner of Master Aviation Group before joining Workhorse. He previously was president and CEO of Global Aviation Holdings; president of CHC Helicopter Services; president of ABX Air, a subsidiary of Wilmington-based public company Air Transport Services Group Inc., from 2008 to 2011; and senior vice president and managing director of ATA Airlines. He flew as an aviator for the U.S. Army for 21 years and is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm.

It’s been an eventful past year for Workhorse. Its stock soared 551% last year, in large part because its shares more than quadrupled in late June when Lordstown Motors, based near Youngstown, unveiled its electric pickup truck. Lordstown licenses some of Workhorse’s intellectual property and Workhorse owns a stake in Lordstown.

Workhorse lost out in February on a huge U.S. Postal Service contract potentially worth $6 billion. But Congress launched legislation that could help Workhorse win part of that contract. The gyrations caused the stock to fall and then rise a bit, although its shares are down 38% so far this year. However, Workhorse stock has still soared 300% since the end of 2019.