About
Adam Witthauer, PhD, PMP
I love building crazy machines and have always been a gear head. I've built race cars from scratch and converted an old school bus into an off-road cross country RV that I took on a 4000 mile navigational challenge. More recently, I've been building Bent Tree Valley on 40 virgin acres in eastern Kansas. Currently it consists of a 1700 square foot shop, a small orchard, 20 acres of timber and 12 acres of hay. Soon I'm hoping to build a house that I've designed and a hobby farm. I love seeing America with my wife and 4 daughters, and am also a Den Leader with my local Cub Scout Pack.
How I got here
I'm a 3rd generation entrepreneur, and have wanted to get into the world of engineering consulting for more than 20 years. Getting there has been a convoluted journey, starting with 4 years active duty Army before switching to the Iowa Army National Guard, at which point I also began my Mechanical Engineering degree. After a co-op at Mercury Marine and receiving my BSME from Iowa State University I started on my PhD in ME. Along the way I also had a another year of Field Artillery Officer training and a 1 year deployment to Afghanistan, and eventually at 33 I entered the corporate world.
It was rewarding enough for me to hang around for a decade, but I had my fun and was ready to move on.
What makes us nuclear grade?
Before I started Big W Engineering Solutions, I was a Supplier Quality Engineering Manager for Kansas City National Security Campus (KCSNC) where we made 80% of the non-nuclear components for the nuclear deterrent.
We worked with some of the best suppliers in the world making parts with requirements which often pushed the limits of technology. While the suppliers were certified to AS9100, the parts they delivered had to meet the much stricter quality policy of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), NAP 401.1a, which offers the nearest glimpse to quality perfection that I've witnessed.
Whether you need to meet NNSA requirements or simply want to take advantage of ISO 9001's framework as an internationally recognized standard of excellence, we aim to build your QMS to suit your customer's requirements, whatever they may be!
