Proterra announced today that Josh Ensign has joined its management team as chief operating officer. A military veteran and former executive of Honeywell International and Tesla Motors, Ensign’s track record includes leading global operations for 42 factories in 15 countries and managing the supporting supply chains.

Ensign will support Proterra’s next phase of strategic growth by scaling existing operations at Proterra’s Greenville, S.C. facility and bringing its Los Angeles County facility and battery manufacturing operations online in early 2017. Under Ensign’s leadership, Proterra expects to triple production in its East Coast facility and initiate production in Southern California in 2017.

“Mass transit in North America represents a $3 billion market opportunity, and my top priority will be to help Proterra establish a competitive U.S. manufacturing presence to meet market demand and to support the industry’s transition to an all-electric future,” said Josh Ensign, Chief Operating Officer at Proterra.  

As VP of manufacturing at Tesla Motors, Ensign was responsible for all manufacturing activities at the Fremont, Calif. production site. This included the installation of the current Model S high-volume production line, the launch of both the dual-motor platform and the Model X, and the establishment of Tesla’s new seat manufacturing facility. Before Tesla, Ensign led global operations in Honeywell International’s automotive and aerospace businesses. Ensign has extensive functional experience in supply chain, logistics, purchasing, and manufacturing and has lived and operated abroad in Germany, Mexico, China and Switzerland.