Bonhag Associates

Everything Energy-Related

When I called Wayne Bonhag for an interview, I interrupted him on the roof of a building at Middlebury College in Vermont as he looked at a problem they were having. “We’re into all kinds of energy projects,” he exclaimed over his cell phone. “We’re having a field day.” This epitomizes the enthusiasm Bonhag brings to his company, Bonhag Associates, and indicates the demand for his type of business in a time when energy is in the forefront.

With offices in Lebanon, New Hampshire and White River Junction, Vermont, Bonhag Associates designs mechanical, electrical, plumbing, process piping, structural, instrumentation, and fire protection systems for buildings. They take a holistic approach that integrates all these systems, including HVAC, power, and lighting.

Call it MEP (mechanical/electrical/plumbing) engineering with a twist. As Bonhag puts it: “We’re reclaiming heat, or we’re doing pellet boilers, or we’re doing biomass systems.” They’re working on a wind turbine project. They’ve done photovoltaic projects. “We’re doing a couple projects with geothermal right now.” Bonhag Associates has experience in combined heat and power (CHP) systems, which typically involve producing steam to heat buildings and generate electricity. They have been responsible for over 200 cogeneration studies throughout the region from 50 kilowatts to 8 megawatts in size.

This kind of work often involves using analytical software to predict results, model systems, and calculate heating and cooling losses, thermal loads, energy loss, and lighting levels. Bonhag Associates has developed its own software for unique applications such as developing a screening tool for fuel optimization.

In the end, Bonhag reports, “I feel like I have not achieved the goal unless I can save our client serious money. We are different from almost any other engineering company.” They try to return three to five times the value they charge in engineering services.

Most of Bonhag Associates’ work comes east of the Mississippi in New England, New Jersey, New York, and Florida. “For Middlebury College, we did the first chilled beam chilled ceiling application in the state of Vermont,” Bonhag relates. In retrofitting an existing facility, “They had no head room. They had no space to run additional cooling ducts.” He adds, “We’re doing lots of work for them.” They have also done projects at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

Other customers include Vermont Electric Coop and North Community Investment Corporation, a nonprofit that writes grants for projects. They did work for an outdoor museum and King Arthur Flour, a renowned baked goods company. Utilities like National Grid and Granite State and Sprint are among their clients, who include institutional, healthcare, commercial varieties and a mix of public and private sectors. Although Bonhag likes it all, “The kind of projects I love to do are private sector industrial facilities-related projects.” They did a five-million-dollar project for Spectra, now a division of Fuji Film, designing all their labs, and they do work for Stonyfield Farms, the well-known yogurt maker.

Fittingly, Bonhag has become LEED accredited. “We do a lot of work where we look at carbon footprint reduction, capturing renewable energy credits for our clients,” he explains. In green building projects, “We are very careful about determining the level of interest our clients want to have, and we basically give them what I call the Benjamin Franklin approach -- pros and cons of doing various things. And then we leave it up to our client as to how far they want to go.”

By now you get the idea that Bonhag drives the personality of the company that bears his name. Its unique flavor comes from his unique background. He is a registered professional mechanical engineer and electrical engineer. He has a B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering and a minor in electrical engineering, all from the University of Vermont.

Previously, he headed a company in New Jersey, Bonhag Company, Engineers and Contractors, a mechanical/electrical/energy consulting and construction company with 110 employees. His father started the company right after World War II, and the firm provided MEP and HVAC engineering and construction services for major industrial and heavy commercial clients throughout the Atlantic states. He served as chief mechanical and electrical engineer, and they ran the company through the mid 1980s. Bonhag later moved to New Hampshire and worked for a mid-size consulting firm. “I decided I could do what I’m doing now with my own team of engineers. We set up an Internet-based engineering company.”

Bonhag Associates has eight engineers and designers on staff, and while they focus largely on New England, they have also completed projects in many other states and countries using this setup. ”Some 35 or 40 other folks who are friends of mine work for Bonhag Associates on assignment, Bonhag explains. “They are all over the country and Canada. I’ve been doing this for 11 or 12 years, and the model I’ve put together is just terrific.”

How does an Internet-based engineering firm work? “We communicate over the Internet. We have a server at the office. We allow people access to our server, with restrictions, and they can work on projects, and we send things back and forth. Ultimately, when the documents and drawings get done, they come back into our office,” Bonhag explains. “We do a broad range of work, not just mechanical-electrical-energy kinds. We’re doing chemical, acoustic, and harmonics on some of the electronics we do.”

As an indication of the flexibility in Bonhag’s system and the demand for his firm’s energy-related work, Bonhag tells how he just opened a new office in Maine. One of his engineers, Karen Ainsworth, who has worked with him for 11 years, decided to move back to Maine. “I didn’t want to lose Karen as an engineer,” he recalls. “That was a real blow, and we’re screaming busy right now.” He suggested that she set up and run a Maine office, and she’s doing just that. With the Internet-based system, it all seems to work as Bonhag engineers enjoy their energy field day.

Snapshot

Company:
Bonhag Associates

Type:
Consulting firm specializing in mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineering and energy conversion and conservation

Location:
Headquartered in Lebanon, New Hampshire

Website:
www.bonhagassociates.com

Types of engineers they use: Mechanical and electrical

Outlook for hiring engineers: “We have a strong demand. I would like to hire another mechanical engineer and an electrical engineer,” says Wayne Bonhag, principal. They also work with engineers on an assignment basis. “We are continually looking for qualified engineers all over the country working in their specific discipline.”

Bonhag typically recruits for direct hires at Vermont Technical College in Randolph, Vermont. “I usually try to hire somebody finishing their junior year and put them in some kind of work-study program. Then I want to see how it plays out, and if they’re still interested and a good mix for the two of us, I’ll probably offer them a job when they graduate at the end of their senior year.”

What they look for in engineers: “I want people who are really good hands-on engineers and designers,” Bonhag says. He looks for “young engineers with energy, dedication to detail.”

Contact for submitting resumes:
Wayne Bonhag
E-mail: wbonhag@bonhagassociates.com

Progressive Engineer
Editor: Tom Gibson
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©2006 Progressive Engineer