RMF Announces President Transition

Background

Rick Borkowicz, PE, is RMF Engineering's new President –– succeeding Ken Pitz, who has held the seat since 2018 and will remain on the Board of Directors for the next year of transition. Rick is the fourth President to be elected in RMF's 41-year history and will continue to serve on the firm's Board of Directors and Corporate Management Team with Executive Vice President Tim Griffin, PE, Secretary Dave Crutchfield, PE, and Treasurer Greg Carnathan, PE. Additional Directors include Vince Jarrett, PE, and John Williamson, PE.

Rick has been with the firm for more than 30 years and held a number of engineering and business leadership positions during his tenure. His passion for engineering and district energy systems has afforded him the opportunity to lead and contribute to many of the Firm’s most complex projects. Rick has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2001 and in 2020 joined RMF's Corporate Management (CM) team as Treasurer.

Prior to joining RMF, Rick worked for the Power Generation Division of General Electric Co. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Rick is a practicing registered professional engineer in Maryland and New York.

Rick chatted with Laura Price, who oversees the company’s marketing department, about his career progression and his insights on leadership.

Q&A

How did you come to join the RMF team?

I would say that my introduction to RMF was a bit unconventional. Over 30 years ago, the town I still call home today was conducting a feasibility study to construct a waste-to-energy facility at one of the county landfills. Given my professional background in combustion and power, I volunteered to serve on the county’s technical committee evaluating the project. During one of the committee meetings, an engineering firm was invited to share their experiences in the design and construction of a number of hospital incineration facilities – in walks, you guessed it, RMF Engineering.

Bob Smith, who was the Vice President at the time, along with one of his senior colleagues, were subjected to some fairly challenging questions I posed during the meeting. It opened up a great dialogue – at least from my perspective – and intrigued me to learn more about RMF Engineering, so after the meeting I approached the two of them to introduce myself. Initially, the conversation between us was a bit awkward but after a few minutes resulted in some great information exchange. The following day I faxed a cover letter and resume, and one month later I began my career at RMF.

RMF currently has 11 office locations and over 300 employees. What has it been like to be part of the company’s evolution?

It has been a great experience and provides valuable insight on how to grow a company. Each time the firm grew into a new location, it was like being part of a start-up. The excitement and energy of helping build new client relationships is extremely satisfying. Lessons learned, both business and technical, from other office start-ups laid the foundation for new locations, creating an RMF-wide exchange that strengthened the whole of the business. The exposure to financial, business and legal matters associated with the expansion of the Firm played a major role in my professional growth.

RMF's work spans many different practice areas and industries. Is there a specific practice area that really excites you?

That is a tough one, as I thoroughly enjoy all the engineering services that RMF provides. If I had to pick one, I’d say industrial steam generation. During my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to participate in combustion research related to an industrial boiler located in the University of Maryland Steam Plant. I liked being around the boiler and the different auxiliary equipment that supported the operation. I spent time with the plant chief (George White) peppering him with questions about how things worked. He always took the opportunity to answer my questions and go above and beyond explaining how the plant functioned.

The passion for combustion and steam generating equipment has remained throughout my career. One of my first assignments at RMF was to prepare a design for a complete rebuild of four industrial boilers for a prominent federal facility. I have had the opportunity to design, commission and inspect boilers that burn a variety of fuels including natural gas, heavy oil, light oil, coal and wood. Even as I transition into my new role, I will continue to assist our team with boiler condition assessments.

As RMF’s newest president, are there specific items you would like to accomplish?

A large responsibility comes with being president of an organization and is something I look forward to. Our company is in a very good position with respect to technical capabilities, financial stability, and a very strong backlog. RMF will continue to recruit the best talent and maintain a risk averse approach to business. I am planning to visit various construction sites with the design teams to maintain connectivity to projects and individuals. I will continue to support the Firm’s outstanding co-op and internship programs. This summer we will be hosting over 40 interns and co-ops from 20 different engineering colleges and universities. RMF has afforded me the opportunity to grow my career in a way that I never could have imagined, and I would like to do the same for the next generation of engineers.