Vince Borch retires as Chairman of the Board

On May 14, 2005, Vince Borch, P.Eng. retired as Chairman of the Board of Associated Engineering. At a reception in Vince’s honour, incoming Chairman, Alistair Black, P.Eng., thanked Vince for his service to the company, his leadership, and his mentorship to staff. “As President, Vince was the architect of our modern company,” Alistair advised. “As Chairman, he played a key role in structuring our corporate governance.” Vince introduced and fostered the “One Company” mindset throughout the company. He established the strong governance and effective business strategy that has seen the company grow from 200 to more than 500 staff across Canada.

A civil engineering graduate from the University of British Columbia in 1958, Vince started his career with Peter Kiewit Sons in Edmonton. Vince worked for five years with Kiewit as a Design Engineer and Estimator. He later moved to a consulting firm in Kelowna, and then held roles as City Engineer for the cities of Kelowna and Port Coquitlam in B.C.

Vince joined Associated Engineering in 1978 as a Project Manager. Some may view the move from the public sector to the private sector as a daunting challenge. With a keen sense for business development and determination to succeed in his new position, Vince made the transition to consulting and soon became a key individual in the B.C. operation. Vince made his mark developing client relationships and projects for the company across B.C.

Vince’s business acumen led to his promotion to Vice President and General Manager of Associated Engineering’s B.C. operation in 1984. The company experienced hard times in the 80’s, with the economic downturn across Western Canada. Vince had to make some tough operational decisions in these difficult times to keep the B.C. operation afloat. He was instrumental in turning the operation around, streamlining operations, developing new markets, and ensuring our ability to compete as we emerged from the recession.

In the mid 80’s, Associated Engineering was successful on a number of key projects that helped pave the way, including infrastructure development for B.C. Place, SkyTrain Expo Line in Vancouver, and design of portions of the Coquihalla Highway. Showing his vision, it was during this time that Vince brought together the joint venture team of Associated Engineering, Brown & Caldwell and Reid Crowther and Partners (ABR Consultants) to bid for the Greater Vancouver Regional District’s planned upgrade of their wastewater treatment plants. In 1990, the Greater Vancouver Regional District retained ABR Consultants to complete design and construction of their $600 million upgrade of the Annacis and Lulu Island Wastewater Treatment Plants to secondary treatment.

In 1990, Vince succeeded Stan Lawrence as president of the company, and in 1996, he was appointed to the position of Chairman of the Board. In these roles, Vince has provided leadership and direction to the company. His strategy was to build on attitude and his leadership approach was based on integrity—always doing the right thing.

In addition to his responsibilities with the company, Vince also actively volunteered with various professional associations. He was a member of council for the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C., chaired various committees for the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada, and served in various roles for the Consulting Engineers of B.C., including President in 1986-87. Vince also serviced as a director of the Technical Service Council.

Vince has served Associated Engineering with dedication over the past 27 years. In retirement, we wish Vince and his wife, Carol, much health and happiness.