Enstrom Helicopter Appoints New Chief Operating Officer
Enstrom Helicopter would like to welcome Adam Richardson to the Enstrom family. Adam has joined the company as the Chief Operating Officer starting in October. Here is a little bit about Adam, in his own words.
First, I want to let you know how excited I am to join the Enstrom family. The coming years are going to be very exciting as we reach places thought unimaginable. As I get to know the employees at Enstrom, their passion and desire to do what’s right, to work together to overcome obstacles, and love of the brand is amazing.
So who am I? I was born in small town Indiana. Growing up I spent most time in a garage tinkering and did some machine shop stuff in high school. I went to college for one semester and decided that wasn’t for me. I joined the Marine Corps to operate bulldozers and blow stuff up, but they had alternate plans. I ended up being a circuit board repairman — yes that’s a job in the USMC. After learning a bit more about the real world I decided an engineering degree might be for me and attended Purdue University Indianapolis, during my Junior year I was able to secure an internship, which lead to a job offer in 2007 before graduating. After a short period of working in engineering I realized the business/operational side was more my liking and ended up getting a BS in Business Management from Indiana Wesleyan. The rest is history — I worked in quality, planning and control, production management, and other functions focused on manufacturing.
I tried to leave in 2015 as we relocated to northern Indiana but Rolls asked me to stick around and help from afar. I helped where I could, traveling overseas, to other sites in the US, and traveling to suppliers to help them become more efficient. In 2022, with our kids now 4 and 5, my wife asked if I wanted to get back at my true passion, which is being in the thick of operations, day in and day out. I said yes and as we were about to relocate to Greenville, SC for an opportunity at GE, I was blessed with a request from the board of Enstrom to have a look up here.
Flight is something I have always been intrigued by but never really ventured into. After stepping foot into this facility and seeing the three “ships” as many of you call them, I knew this was my future. I even started helicopter pilot training.
My wife’s name is Jamie and we have two kids Ethan and Harper. My wife works in the medical device business for Johnson & Johnson. We enjoy the outdoors: exploring mountains, exploring big water, snow sports, and camping with family and friends. I have a huge passion for boating, to me (up until I started to learn to fly) it is the best way to be completely free, explore where you want and make amazing memories. We look forward to making amazing memories up here.
I am a sponge when it comes to manufacturing. I ask a LOT of questions, not questioning the process, but enabling me to better understand what we do and how things work. The more I can understand what, how, where, and why we do things across our entire business, the better I’m suited to make decisions which will be impactful and move us all forward. I always want team members to ask WHY. There is always a reason a decision or direction is made, and no one decision is ever 100% but a balance of the needs of the business to move forward in the manner most appropriate.
My first weeks at Enstrom have been exciting and really eye-opening to see so much of the product built and assembled all under one roof. The team is great and they have been able to meet the startup challenges head on. I look forward to being part of Enstrom Helicopter as it grows under Surack Enterprises.
About Enstrom Helicopter
From Rudy Enstrom’s early designs in 1943 to initial testing in a Michigan Quarry in 1957 to aircraft operating on six continents, Enstrom Helicopter Corporation has maintained a reputation for safety, value and performance. Based in Menominee, Michigan and proudly made in the United States, Enstrom has a rich history for design innovation. The goal is to provide helicopters to the customer’s exact specification and deliver support and maintenance worldwide.