Ryan Latham Appointed President of AWI-AMI

Ryan Latham has been named president of Aerospace Welding Incorporated and Aerospace Manufacturing Incorporated (AWI-AMI) aviation companies within the Hartzell family of companies. He brings more than 25 years of manufacturing experience and a proven track record in aerospace leadership to the operation located in Eagan, Minn.

Ryan Latham

“We are pleased that Ryan has assumed the AWI-AMI business unit leadership responsibilities,” said Joe Brown, COO of Tailwind Technologies, the holding company of the Hartzell family of companies. “His direct industry expertise and battle tested leadership as a U.S. Army officer in Operation Iraqi Freedom have prepared him for this responsible senior position in our family of companies.”

AWI specializes in welding, bending and fabricating sheet metal and tubing, and it manufactures, repairs and overhauls piston aircraft exhaust and engine mounts. AMI specializes in machining and welding, with a focus on bending and welding tube assemblies for jet engines and airframes, in addition to metal details for AWI’s exhaust and engine mount business. For more information go to https://awi-ami.com.

During his aerospace and manufacturing career, Latham served as a plant manager for Howmet Aerospace and as a manager of a Pratt and Whitney manufacturing business unit. At Pratt and Whitney he led a team of jet engine specialists and was operations supervisor for numerous production processes. Latham also served as a contracting and logistics officer, deputy fire support officer and a field artillery officer in the army.

He holds a degree in economics from Elon University and has a master’s in management and leadership from Webster University. Latham has also done post graduate work at Villanova University, including obtaining a Six Sigma Green Belt certificate.

Hartzell Propeller Inc., Hartzell Engine Technologies LLC, Quality Aircraft Accessories, and AWI-AMI form the general aviation business units of Tailwind Technologies, Inc. For more information, go to https://hartzellprop.com/family-of-companies/.

Kim Stevens

Kim Stevens is the publisher of State Aviation Journal, which he founded in 2009. A longtime commercial-rated pilot, he was introduced to state aviation in 1992 as Director of the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, later serving as Deputy Division Director for the Arizona Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. From 2013 to 2018, he was Director of Communications and Operations for the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) in Washington, D.C. Relocating to North Carolina, Kim worked for the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for two years and now concentrates solely on the Journal. Prior to his aviation career, Kim spent a decade in the newspaper and magazine business.