From joining the shop floor as a 19 year old electrical fitter to leading Enspec’s Manufacturing department, Luke Adams marks 15 years with Enspec Power.
Luke joined Enspec in 2011 while studying towards his HNC in Electrical Engineering. He began his career as an electrical fitter, building the equipment Enspec designed and supplied to projects across the power industry.
Fifteen years later, he is Enspec’s Manufacturing Director.
It is a career that spans a significant period in Enspec’s history. The business has grown considerably, the scale and technical complexity of its projects have evolved, and its manufacturing capabilities have developed with them.
Luke has been part of that evolution throughout.
From the shop floor to Manufacturing Director
Luke’s progression has given him a perspective on Enspec’s manufacturing operation that can only really be built through experience.
He started with the practicalities of assembling equipment on the shop floor. As his engineering knowledge developed, so did his responsibilities within the business.
Director of Site Services Tony Cook, who is approaching 20 years with Enspec, has seen much of that progression first-hand.
“I remember Luke joining the business as a young fitter and learning his trade on the shop floor. Over the years I’ve watched him build an enormous amount of engineering knowledge and take on more responsibility as the company has grown.
“To see him now leading Manufacturing is a fantastic achievement. Luke knows our equipment inside out and understands what it takes to turn an engineering requirement into something that can be built properly and perform as it should on site. Fifteen years is a milestone he should be very proud of.”
Today, Luke oversees Enspec’s Manufacturing department, with responsibility for the operation that builds equipment for projects across the UK and beyond.
But the route from fitter to Director was also driven by something much simpler: wanting to understand more.
Understanding the engineering behind the equipment
CTO Tim Rastall remembers that curiosity clearly.
When Tim first joined Enspec, his first month was spent at the Washington manufacturing facility, working alongside the team and helping to build equipment.
By then, Luke had already accumulated years of practical experience. He knew how the equipment was built. What he increasingly wanted to understand was the engineering behind it.
Tim remembers Luke coming to his desk with questions about the components he was working with, including conversations that began with the basic function of a capacitor and developed into why particular components were needed and what the equipment was doing electrically.
“Luke would come over to my desk and ask questions about the equipment we were building. He wanted to understand what the components actually did and why they were there.
“That curiosity was there from the beginning of us working together. Luke already knew how to build the equipment, but he wanted to understand more about what it was doing electrically. When you look at the breadth of knowledge he has today and the fact that he now leads Manufacturing, there has been a huge amount of progression.”
Over time, that combination of practical experience and deeper technical understanding has become an important part of Luke’s role.
He understands what it takes to physically manufacture equipment, but also the engineering decisions that sit behind it. That perspective allows him to contribute to discussions around design and product development while considering how those decisions translate onto the shop floor.
Fifteen years of knowledge
For a specialist engineering business, experience accumulated over that length of time has value beyond an individual career milestone.
Luke has worked with different generations of Enspec equipment and seen the requirements placed on that equipment change. He has also been part of the development of the manufacturing operation itself.
That knowledge is now being carried forward as Enspec continues to expand its engineering and manufacturing capabilities.
CEO Mara Rastall said:
“Luke has been part of Enspec for much longer than I have, and his contribution is woven into the business we have today. He has seen the company through different stages of its development and carries an enormous amount of knowledge about our products, our projects and how we work.
“What is particularly significant is that Luke is now in a position to pass that experience on. As we bring new engineers and apprentices into the business, people like Luke are a vital link between the experience Enspec has built over the past 25 years and where we want to go next.”
There is a particularly fitting continuity to that.
New engineers and apprentices joining Enspec Manufacturing today are entering a department led by someone who began his own career there at 19.
They have access to knowledge built through years of designing, manufacturing and delivering equipment for real projects, while Luke has the opportunity to pass on the same kind of engineering understanding he once actively sought out himself.
Celebrating 15 years
Luke’s 15 year anniversary is a significant personal milestone, but it also tells a wider story about how engineering careers can develop.
The practical experience gained on the shop floor became the foundation for greater technical understanding and increasing responsibility within the business.
There are now 15 years of Enspec projects carrying Luke’s contribution.
And perhaps the simplest way to measure how far that career has come is this:
The 19 year old who joined the shop floor in 2011 now leads it.
Congratulations to Luke Adams on 15 years with Enspec Power.
