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Community profile: Cruces businessman finds success in civil engineering, leadership class
By Brook Stockberger/ Sun-News Business Editor
Article Launched: 01/04/2008 04:23:23 PM MST
LAS CRUCES — Robert Richardson came to Las Cruces three decades ago to study civil engineering at New Mexico State University. He never left.
"It'll be 30 years come July," the 47-year-old businessman said. "I grew up in Capitan and came to school here in 1978 and, except for a few temporary stints in Albuquerque and other construction locations, I've been here ever since."
Richardson started his own business in 1989 and then merged with Albuquerque-based company Bohannan Huston Inc. in 1998.
"That was 10 years ago this month," he said. "It's been a wonderful experience. I've been able to participate in the growth of the organization."
Bohannan Huston has grown in the past decade.
"When I started, it had two offices and we now have four; we've added Denver and Dallas," he said. "We have about 250 employees, 20 of them in each of the remote offices and the other 180 or 190 in Albuquerque."
He said his office works mostly for municipal and government entities.
"Most of the work is in municipal infrastructure," he said. "We do a lot of work for cities, towns and counties, in southern New Mexico predominately."
He said the company is a multi-discipline company.
"All the engineering disciplines: structural, mechanical, electrical," he said. "Also, we have a mapping and a surveying group as well."
Richardson said Las Cruces' growth has been good for his field.
"For the most part it's a great profession," he said. "Our infrastructure needs are not going to stop."
Despite the fact construction took a step backward in 2007 — the number of building permits issued by the city fell — Richardson said he believes Las Cruces will continue to expand.
"I've been here 30 years and I've seen Las Cruces slow down, but I've never seen it turn down," he said. "We've slowed down a bit, but that's because we were running at breakneck speed. It's still going forward."
He said he expects the low unemployment rate in Las Cruces to continue.
"We had a leadership training at the company and one of the guys we brought in was an economist. He said that, sometime between 2008 and 2012, there are going to be more jobs than people who can fill them," Richardson said. "What it means is, I'm not going to have three or four people standing in line trying to get in my company. I'm going to have five or six other companies standing in line trying to get that guy to come and work for them if he's any good at all. People will be able to pick and choose selectively the conditions they work in. As a company, that's something we're going to try to brace for."
Richardson is also very involved with Leadership Las Cruces. He is chairman of organization, which is part of the Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce and offers students nine months of classes that deal with subjects such as the military, education and agriculture.
"It's part of my own personal development," he said. "I wanted to be able to participate and to help facilitate some form of leadership capacity; this fits my own view of how I can contribute."
Brook Stockberger can be reached at bstockberger@lcsun-news.com