The Enstrom Helicopter Corporation located at the Menominee-Marinette Twin County Airport in Michigan was founded in 1959 by lumberjack and mechanic Rudolph J. Rudy Enstrom initially as the R.J. Enstrom Corp.. He received financial backing after spending some years developing his own helicopters. In October 1968 a controlling interest in Enstrom was bought by Purex Industries who wanted to develop a turbine powered version something that didn't happen until over 20 years later.
