Editorial
Front Page - Friday, September 11, 2009
Burns and Roe sets up, aims to hire 200 by 2011
David Laprad
Burns and Roe Enterprises, an Oradell, N.J.-based engineering company, has opened an office in Chattanooga and hopes to hire about 200 people by January 2011. Terry Woods, project engineering manager of the operation’s commercial nuclear power division, says the workforce will perform the company’s engineering work in the Tennessee Valley.
“We specialize in providing engineering and consultant services to the power utility industry,” he says. “Currently, our staffing plan is based on the opportunities we believe will be available in the valley. We’re looking at hiring 20 people within the next few weeks and hope to be up to 40 people by the beginning of the new year.”
Woods, a metallurgical engineer and former chief of materials at Tennessee Valley Authority, says Burns and Roe’s long-term plan is to grow its business by providing engineering services to TVA and other utilities in the Southeast.
“As opportunities present themselves, and based on our projections of where we believe the nuclear power industry is going, we hope to be up to about 200 employees by January 2011,” says Woods.
Burns and Roe has a history of significant involvement with nuclear power facilities, specifically in the area of design engineering. Woods says this makes Chattanooga an ideal place for the company to set up new operations.
“This is where the future is,” he says. “When you look at the distribution of nuclear power plants in the U.S., a large percentage of them are concentrated on the East Coast and the Southeastern part of the country. And many of them are expanding their operations.”
Burns and Roe has certainly done its homework. Southern Nuclear, for example, is planning to upgrade its Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia with two AP1000 reactors. In addition, TVA is looking at expanding Watts Bar, while Woods sees potential for growth at that same company’s Bellefonte plant in Alabama.
“We see a lot of opportunities here, not just for expansion but also in terms of providing the support needed to keep the operating units online,” says Woods.
In order to provide such support, Burns and Roe offers a number of specialty engineering services, such as component engineering. “Our core competency has always been design engineering, but we’re developing additional experise in component engineering, which is critical to keeping plants functioning,” Woods says.
Given the advanced nature of the work Burns and Roe does, Woods say the company is looking to hire quality personnel. Most of the people in the first round of hires will be experienced mechanical engineers, electrical engineers and nuclear engineers. While some of the workers will be transferring in from New Jersey, Woods says the company will also bring on a number of local people, including former TVA employees.
And the future holds even greater promise for local residents experienced in or studying engineering, as Reginald Gagliardo, Burns and Roe’s senior vice president of knowledge, innovation and quality, said in a press release in June that Burns and Roe is launching a cooperative effort with UTC and UT Knoxville to bring on new hires.
“We’re looking forward to developing educational opportunities for students by integrating learning at the workplace into the academic program,” Gagliardo said. “We see this as a way to build a positive relationship with the local community while building on our highly-educated workforce.”
Burns and Roe has already taken an active interest in its new home beyond the scope of providing jobs and engineering services. From its Oak Ridge, Tenn., office, the company has been involved in numerous local organizations, including the Governor’s Office of Diversity Business to identify small, disadvantaged, veteran and women-owned business partners; the East Tennessee Economic Council; the Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association; and the Oak Ridge and Chattanooga Chambers of Commerce.
In addition, Burns and Roe has a reputation as a world leader in the markets it serves. Engineering News-Record, for example, consistently ranks Burns and Roe as a top power design firm. Business News-New Jersey has also ranked Burns and Roe as a top engineering firm in the state for the past five years.
Burns and Roe was founded in 1932. From the beginning, Ralph Roe managed the firm with “a vision of exceptional people focused on creating a global service company that provided responsive customer service” (www.roe.com). In 1963, Kenneth Roe succeeded his father as president. He led Burns and Roe through a period of record growth built on strategic customer alliances.
Under the leadership of current Chairman and CEO Keith Roe, the legacy the Roe family has built over three generations continues. According to www.roe.com, Roe’s new maxim, “Be the best to the best,” has been incorporated into every project Burns and Roe takes on. The end result has been shorter project schedules, reduced costs and better quality work. The Burns and Roe of today has “kept with Roe’s vision to be known throughout the industry as the most customer responsive EPCO firm” in the company’s markets (www.roe.com).
Recently projects at Burns and Roe have included gas turbine energy expansion for various clients, the evaluation of Uranium-233 for the U.S. Department of Energy, work on DUF6 conversion facilities for the same department, and project management and supervision services for Entergy’s next generation nuclear plant.
Robert Milhiser, senior vice president of Burns and Roe’s power division, said in the June press release that the company is excited about the new growth opportunities and office expansion in Chattanooga. “This gives us a solid presence in the Southeastern U.S. and the ability to take on additional work from several strategic clients,” he said. Burns and Roe is now even better positioned to provide the high level of client responsiveness that is a core to our culture.”
For more information on Burns and Roe, contact the company through its Web site at www.roe.com.
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