Valdes Engineering opens doors in the region

This article was originally published October 11, 2008 by the Times of Northwest Indiana.

By Bob Moulesong
Times Correspondent
Saturday, October 11, 2008


Valdes Engineering Company officially opened its doors to the Northwest Indiana manufacturing and industrial community this week.

The company moved into its new building at 211 West Ridge Road, Griffith. The 25,000-square-foot building allowed the Lombard, Ill.-based company to expand into Indiana on a permanent basis.

The company hosted an open house to clients, friends, and potential business associates Wednesday.

"We do a lot of engineering consultant work for BP and other Northwest Indiana businesses," President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Valdes said. "We want our current and our potential clients to know that we plan to be a permanent part of the Northwest Indiana manufacturing culture."

Having an office in the region, where it already does significant business "will allow us to spread our wings and allow us to reach more industrial clients in the area," Valdes said.

Harry Bendis, principal technical specialist for the company, was the project manager responsible for getting the Griffith building completed on time and on budget.

"It was a very challenging project," Bendis said. "We had to withstand an earthquake (in March), a tornado (August), and a flood (September). But all of the companies involved, and the Town of Griffith, did an outstanding job."

The building can hold up to 110 employees as designed. Approximately 40 engineers and support staff have moved into the building to date.

"We are a very typical consulting engineering firm," Valdes said. "We focus on project management, project engineering and design services."

The consulting engineering firm currently performs engineering work for BP's Whiting refinery projects and numerous other local clients, he said.





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Valdes Engineering Company (VEC) sets the standard for excellence in engineering serving regional, national and global corporations with on-time, on-budget projects. VEC is a Chicago-based engineering consulting firm, specializing in the petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, power, chemical, alternative energy, and manufacturing industries.