Brett Williams, associate vice president and head of the New England regional office of Burns & McDonnell Engineering in Wallingford says there’s growth and opportunity at Kansas City-based Burns & McDonnell, and “a spot for everybody as long as they’re good at what they do.”
“We’re the hub office for this region, but we have opportunities on projects that span from Maine to Pennsylvania and we see some real potential in Canada,” he said.
Founded in 1898 by two Stanford University graduates, Clinton Burns and Robert McDonnell, the company was purposefully located by its founders in Kansas City, right in the geographic center of the United States. The firm provides engineering, architecture, construction, environmental and consulting solutions from 19 offices across the United States. In Connecticut, much of the company’s work is performed for electric utilities, helping to upgrade transmission lines, power stations and more. Burns and McDonnell was the program manager for Northeast Utilities’ Middletown to Norwalk electric transmission upgrade that was completed in recent years, said Williams, adding that the company takes great pride in having finished the project one year ahead of schedule and significantly under budget.
Williams speaks with the quiet self-assurance of a man who knows his industry and what it takes to succeed in a business that designs and builds major industrial, commercial and government facilities like airports, electric power plants and transmission lines, military bases, water treatment facilities and more.
“If you have a sense of adventure, and the flexibility to move around a bit, you can write your own ticket on climbing the ladder in this company by working on these projects,” he said.
Burns & McDonnell is an employee-owned business that rewards hard work, ability and ambition with generous compensation and benefits, bonuses and recognition and is a company that generally attracts the type of people “with a fire in their gut,” said Williams. He added, “Our people are those who, more than anything else, are seeking a challenge.”
Despite a difficult economy that slowed the company’s rate of growth last year, the company continued to expand, according to Williams, adding between 150 and 200 new hires in 2009, and it turned a profit that was the second highest in the company’s history.
“As a pay for performance company, with bonuses tied to an individual’s performance and corporate profitability, we do everything in our power to help an employee succeed. There’s a lot of incentive and help here,” Williams said.
This includes maintaining strong, open lines of communication between employees as way to monitor one’s individual progress, continuous, highly technical training through Burns and McDonnell University, a mentor program that partners seasoned employees with new hires to help hone particular skills, and the ability to demonstrate one’s expertise by publishing or presenting before major conferences worldwide. This last component could win an employee the company’s coveted Blue Quill Award for their efforts.
Type of business: Engineering firm
Connecticut employees: 107
Connecticut locations: 1
Headquarters: Kansas City, Mo.
Company contact: Rea Weaver, human resources generalist, New England office
Top local executive: Brett Williams, associate vice president
Founded: 1898
