 Together with other former BMW employees, such as Hans-Georg Münzberg, August Wilhelm Quick and Otto David, he accepted a five-year contract with the French Ministry of Aviation.He founded Atar (Atelier technique aéronautique de Rickenbach) in 1946 and headed this development group of 120 employees.He went to Decize in 1946, where he worked for Snecma subsidiary Aeroplanes Voisin.