Enstrom Helicopter Corporation held their groundbreaking ceremony Friday, May 10, 2013 for their new expansion.This expansion will nearly double the size of the current facility.Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan was in attendance at the event, as well as Michigan State Representative Ed McBroom, Michigan Economic Development Corporation Chief Operation Officer, Steve Hilfinger, Mayor Menominee, Jean Stegeman, representatives from several other state officials,Tom Moyle from Moyle Construction, and county and city officials from Menominee, MI and Marinette, WI.

The expansion will add 77,000 sq. ft. to the current 85,000 sq. ft. facility. The expansion plans include installing new paint, gel coat, and sand blast booths for component parts, as well as expanded manufacturing and flight line areas. There will also be a second floor mezzanine to house the engineering department, a new training center, and additional space for other manufacturing capabilities.

Governor Snyder spoke briefly on the growth of Enstrom, and the exciting opportunity this expansion brings to the community. He also spoke on the opportunities it will bring to the company, such as new jobs and the development of new products. With the expansion, the company will be adding 150-200 new jobs and will have the capacity to increase production to 100 helicopters, per year, within the next few years.

“This is a wonderful day for Enstrom,” said Jerry Mullins, President and CEO of Enstrom Helicopter. “What began with Rudy Enstrom’s dream, resulted in a helicopter built in his basement, and has now developed into a world class company providing helicopters worldwide. Our new ownership, Chongqing Helicopter Investment Co., has committed to invest into the company. This expansion is a great opportunity, not only for Enstrom as a business, but also for Enstrom employees, this community, and the state of Michigan.”

Founded in 1959, Enstrom Helicopter Corporation manufactures a complete line of helicopters. The three-seat, piston-powered F28F and 280FX are popular training, sport and light commercial aircraft. The larger turbine-powered 480B is available as a three-place advanced trainer and patrol aircraft, a 2+2 four-seat training helicopter, or as a three- to five-place executive transport. For law enforcement applications, Enstrom produces an optionally equipped variant of the 480B, known as the Guardian, and the F28F, called the Sentinel.