After first opening the firm 28 years ago in 1998, RB Engineering Inc. owner Robert Balmelli is now preparing to pass off ownership of the civil engineering firm to one of his employees, Zachary Wirkkala.
Wirkkala has been working there for seven years. He started right out of W.F. West High School while studying engineering at Centralia College on an RB Engineering scholarship he received.
“My front office gal came in and said, ‘there’s this nice kid that’s been coming in a couple times looking for work, so I really think you should talk to him,’” Balmelli said. “So we did (talk), and hired him just to do general stuff out of the office. But when he got in here, he was real persistent.”
Now, not only is Wirkkala working as an engineer at the firm, but Balmelli is preparing to pass off ownership as, at 62, he is looking to retire.
The Chronicle met with both Balmelli and Wirkkala, 27, on Tuesday, July 28, to talk more about the business transition.
“Originally, I was hoping one of my kids might take it over, but they went different directions,” Balmelli added.
While the business may not be staying in Balmelli’s family, it will still be locally owned as Wirkkala was born and raised in Chehalis.
As for the business model, Wirkkala has no plans to change how it's been run, and he plans to continue providing engineering consulting for construction projects carried out by both local municipalities and private developers.
RB Engineering handles both civil infrastructure projects, like those involving water main lines, to even full building developments.
“Lots of private commercial industrial stuff, even multi-family. All the Jackson Highway apartments, we did all of those,” Wirkkala said.
The business is well established in the community. It has been open for 28 years, and during that time has won local awards, including the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year award in 2016.
While he’s more than prepared to continue engineering, Wirkkala stated learning how to manage the business’s books has been the most challenging part so far.
“Taxes and insurance, you don’t realize how much time it takes until you have to do it,” Wirkkala said.
He added he intends to keep RB Engineering involved in the local community.
“Like I said, I got a scholarship out of high school (from here), so I gave a high school scholarship out this year to the most recent class,” Wirkkala said. “Scholarships and fundraising- type things, I want to make sure I continue that part of it. That’s been a big part of RB Engineering’s base.”
Balmelli added that in the past he enjoyed working with the local Boys & Girls Club and sponsoring the pool in Chehalis.
RB Engineering Inc. is located at 91 SW 13th St. in Chehalis. For more information, call RB Engineering at 360-740-8919 or visit the firm’s website at https://rbengineers.com/.
