60 Years of Integrity – a Family Legacy
In a recent interview with Inspenet, Chuck Becht IV and Chuck Becht V discussed some history, projects, and the future.
History and Evolution:
Becht was founded by Charles Becht III in 1964; he did so as he wanted to have more control over his destiny. He envisioned a large company which is why he called it Becht Engineering Company, and not something like Becht and Associates. The firm did some light industrial work but primarily did building systems work associated with local architects. Charles Becht IV left Exxon Engineering and joined the firm in 1986 providing mechanical engineering services to heavy industry such as refining. In the early 1990s we engaged subject matter experts retired from Exxon Research and Engineering to cover other disciplines. In 2006 we spun off Becht Engineering BT into a separate company, that provided the building systems services the company had traditionally provided. This permitted each company to focus their development and growth into their areas of strength. A significant step in our journey of building our leadership team was to split our divisions in 2016 into Engineering Services and Plant Services, with Chuck Becht V and Derek Becht leading them. The mission and vision have continuously evolved over time with our current mission being To Help Our Clients Succeed.
Emblematic Project:
A good example is a grouping of projects that were focused on helping a recently divested refining site, which is a common trend today. We participated in the initial due diligence on both the integrity and financial evaluations. Then we helped craft the plan for transitioning to new ownership, evaluating the software suite of tools, the business planning model, PSM & integrity governance, and overall corporate structure. We also assisted the site with transitioning to a merchant refining mode of operation rather than the consistent crude and product slate they had historically run. Once fully transitioned to new ownership we then engaged in a number of projects to tackle the low hanging fruit for improving key KPI’s around PSM, integrity, and low/no-cap margin projects. In addition to these strategic projects we established a central engineering agreement to handle the day-to-day challenges that crop-up during operation.
Innovation and Technology:
The company has provided many innovative solutions to address client issues over the years. We have participated heavily in the development of codes and standards that advance safety and reliability in the energy sector. Further, we have been funded by organizations such as ASME and MTI to develop specific technology advancements. And we are now self-funding significant technological developments such as time dependent High Temperature Hydrogen Attack, Coke Drum Life Assessment, cognitively mapped engineering standards, High Temperature Crude Corrosivity and Stream Compatibility. Cutting edge technology is the lynch pin for Becht’s being able to help our clients succeed.
Sustainability and the Future
Our main sustainability initiative is ensuring that clients have continuity in transferring experience and expertise into future challenges. Industry faces new regulatory and economic realities while having the highest turnover of staff in recent memory. We believe the starting point to sustainability is not forgetting the hard-fought industry lessons learned. We have helped several low carbon fuel and green H2 projects that were facing start-up challenges due to not having the right starting premise or appropriate specifications for the service. While some of these challenges are inevitable with new technologies, many could have been avoided by including experience from the refining sector.
We also believe sustainability involves partnership with local communities, which is why we have a local charity matching program for our employees, we donate to our client charities, and we also fund education sponsorship charities to continue promoting STEM graduates to meets tomorrow’s challenges. When we achieve success it’s important to share that with everyone who contributes to our future, which are our clients, our employees and our communities.