I’m excited to announce that Brad Borchers will be filling the role as Vice President of Hamilton Engine and also Vice President of Trident Engineered Solutions.
For those who don’t know him, Brad is a long time PJ’er, just shy of 13 years. A mechanical engineer from Milwaukee School of Engineering and more recently a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Executive MBA program, Brad began his career at Palmer Johnson Power Systems (PJPS) as a Product Support Engineer. While not legally a son of Eric Quinn’s, he did spend his formative PJ years learning from Eric, a true encyclopedia in the off-highway industry. Brad rose quickly, first taking on the role of Support Center Manager, then Director of Engineering, his most recent role.
Brad had been working on starting a Trident-like, fashion-forward venture for the last couple of years. Jan 1, 2020, was a big day. On top of the Badgers playing in the Rose Bowl (back when there were sports) and the Hamilton acquisition, it’s the day that Brad & Trident formally split off from PJPS, along with Josh Spitza, Mike Karpe, Christopher Rath, George Bonney, Mike Herms, Dennis Cotterill and Tyler Hibner. Over the last six months, Brad and his team have positioned Trident for growth. In six months, Trident has gone from basic business set-up to implementing processes, improving the machine shop layout, building intubation boxes for St. Marys Hospital, launching a killer website - all while continuing to serve PJPS with machining and OEMs with engineering services.
With Brad now serving as VP of Hamilton & Trident, they are tied together more closely, which is a good thing. Andy Telford and the Hamilton team have built a strong & growing business in the Pacific Northwest. However, Hamilton didn’t focus on engineering, relying mainly on engine vendor assistance. Now with the support of Trident’s engineering expertise and fueled by PJPS’s relationships with OEMs, Hamilton will be able to capitalize on opportunities to sell engineered solutions to small and mid-sized OEMs across North America. Paired with the machine shop, now the fabrication center, rolled into Trident, Trident has the capability not only to design powertrain solutions but to build them. When possible, these packages will include PJPS components (pump drives, PTOs, transmissions, etc.) and Hamilton engines. Makes sense, right?
A key piece of the Hamilton growth plan, which is coming together quickly, is to build a midwestern version of Hamilton Engine based in Sun Prairie. Last week, Hamilton announced its appointment as the Scania Engine distributor in the midwest - Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota and da UP. We’re hopeful that two additional engine lines are coming on board in the midwest in the next few months.
So you can see, Brad has plenty on his work plate and if that weren’t enough, he’s also wedding planning in the midst of a pandemic! He’s for sure up to these tasks and it’s going to be exciting watching these two high-potential businesses grow and create opportunities. My feeling is it’s going to happen fast!
Congrats on the promotion Brad, Trident and Hamilton are in talented, well-dressed hands!
