By Mark Phelps
Menominee, Michigan-based Enstrom Helicopters is now owned by
Chongqing Helicopter Investment Co. Enstrom president Jerry Mullins
emphasized that the company’s U.S. presence would continue to grow,
saying, “It will provide Enstrom with the needed resources to enhance
marketing efforts in China and around the world.”
Enstrom has plans to continue expansion in Menominee, having grown
its employee roster by 50 percent in the last year and a half. Mullins
said the company will also expand its facility to accommodate increased
production. The new funding source will also enhance product improvement
efforts, marketing, product support and manufacturing refinement
efforts aimed at increasing efficiency.
Funding from the new ownership is also expected to increase
production rates of Enstrom’s existing line. That includes the
turboshaft-powered 480B and the piston-powered F28F and 280FX models.
The company markets two law-enforcement versions of the 480B and 280FX
models, known as the “Guardian” versions.
Enstrom was founded in 1959 by Rudy Enstrom and has had several
owners in the time since then, including attorney-pilot F. Lee Bailey
and Segway inventor Dean Kamen.
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