Name: Helmut Thielsch
Position: President and owner of Thielsch Engineering, a Cranston-based company that provides consultation, project supervision and technical services to chemical processing plants, refineries and other industrial plants throughout the world.
Background: Born in Germany, Thielsch was sent by his parents to the United States to live, study and get away from the impending war in Europe. Raised by an aunt and uncle in Texas, who helped him pursue a career in engineering. In 1954 he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. After early work at Allis Chalmers, Duke Power and Lukens Steel, Thielsch spent 30 years at ITT Grinnell Corporation in Cranston. After ITT Grinnell was dissolved, he purchased the plant, turning the industrial complex into a state-of-the-art engineering/R&D facility that today employs 200 and has annual sales of $30 million.
Education: Holds degrees from Auburn University; Lehigh University; and the University of Michigan
Age: 77
Family: He and wife, Margaret, have four grown children
Residence: Edgewood
HELMUT THIELSCH: ‘It had to work. We’re very good at what we are doing.’
PBN: You were born in Germany in 1922, lived in Texas and were schooled there and in Alabama. You also did graduate work at Lehigh University and the University of Michigan. How did you come to arrive in Rhode Island?
THIELSCH: I was working for a company in New York City and Grinnell – an old Rhode Island company – had an ad for a metallurgical engineer. I applied in 1953 and started with them in January 1954.
Before we talk about Thielsch Engineering, tell us about the Grinnell Corporation. What were its successes and what led to its demise?
Grinnell was started in about 1840. It was primarily a sprinkler company. In fact, in South County there used to be an old barn that the Grinnell family owned. It was full of sprinkler heads that they developed there and started manufacturing there. There were no sprinkler systems. Grinnell actually invented sprinkler heads in this country – in the world, really. Once you have sprinkler heads, now you have to connect them. So you have to have piping. So Grinnell added a fitting plant, cast iron fittings. It was this foundry here that produced fittings for Grinnell. It was built around 1890. Then Grinnell added other things. Once you had that kind of piping, then you had power piping for power plants. Grinnell became one of the leading fabricators of piping in the United States for power plant construction.
When you talk about piping, these are systems within buildings?
First it was building just sprinkler heads for fire protection systems. At the turn of the century, we developed power stations like Narragansett Electric. Now they had a boiler and a turbine. You connect those by piping because you make steam. Grinnell got involved after World War I in fabricating and directing piping for power plants. Grinnell became the leader for fabricating and directing piping for the power generating industry. Most power plants in the 1930s put in steam piping that was fabricated by Grinnell. This plant here actually had a high bay where Grinnell fabricated piping for various power stations in North America. And that led to other activities related to piping. Grinnell developed the best distribution network for everything that relates to piping, pipe fitting, valves, and pumps – any kind of component that goes into a piping system. It could be a chemical plant, a paper mill, and a power plant. Grinnell then sold piping all over the United States and Canada. It became a leader in everything in piping.
And you came on board in January 1954?
I joined Grinnell in 1954. I came in as a metallurgical engineer, started a laboratory and gradually grew it. I got Grinnell into many new products. I went to Europe to learn technologies and how to make pipe fittings. We developed new products. In 1965 I became director of research for the whole Grinnell Corporation and we expanded it.
How big did Grinnell get at its peak?
In 1954 Grinnell’s sales were about $250 million and by 1969 they were $650 million. Grinnell was the leading company in the piping business.
Those must have been considered big numbers at that time.
Yes they were. Then in November 1969, ITT made an offer to buy Grinnell. That took Grinnell off the line as an independent company. But I continued to stay with it. Of course, ITT put their own president in quickly and changed their philosophy. At the old Grinnell, the philosophy was internal development. Whatever money was made – there was always money put into building new things and new products. When ITT took us over in 1969, I had 160 people working for me in research development and engineering. We continued to build because my goal was to make it a multi-billion-dollar company also, independent of ITT. Once ITT took over, the philosophy changed. Under the old Grinnell, whatever we needed to grow, money was available from internal earnings. Once ITT came in the philosophy was to make more profit. As a result, the R&D effort by ITT was de-emphasized. We didn’t need new products because each president that ITT put in had an interest in making more profits so that Grinnell could be a stepping stone. Maybe he then becomes a senior group vice president.
And research and development is not about a quick return?
It takes a bout five years to make sure that a product is of good quality and has all of its problems resolved. It’s about five years from the initial idea to having it in production. As a result the growth of ITT Grinnell slowed. Now I did get Grinnell heavily into the nuclear business. In the 1970s, nuclear was the growing business. Everyone was building nuclear plants, until 1978, when people decided that they didn’t want any more nuclear plants. But Grinnell grew under ITT to be a bout a billion-and-half-dollar division. It was still a good company, a leader. But by 1982, you could see Grinnell’s business volume go down, because of the nuclear business going down. Since ITT had de-emphasized other activities for Grinnell, slowly profits started going down. ITT began to recognize that. I could see in 1983 that there weren’t many years left. I was told in November of 1983 that I had to reduce my group, which had been shrunk down to 65 people, to nine people over a weekend. I made a layoff list of 56 people – and put my name on top. The president said; ‘Helmut, we need you herewe’re going to rebuild it.’ But I knew better. So I left in 1984 and I started this company. I wanted to build something.
Does ITT Grinnell still exist?
No. It was broken up. A number of ITT Grinnell plants were closed. ITT kept a couple, which are now part of ITT Industrial.
Thielsch Engineering has grown from six employees to 200. What do you do there?
We bought a company called ALCO Engineering Group that is in the wastewater treatment business. We help treatment facilities to become more profitable. Later, we bought RISE, which brought us into the energy business. We also bought another environmental laboratory to add to our laboratory capabilities. We are moving in the direction of one-stop shopping.
How do you go from six employees to 200?
Slow growth. The problem is this. When you have a small business, people don’t want to come with you – they may not be sure if you are going to make it. We knew we had to grow in order to keep good engineers and add new engineers. We didn’t reach what I considered a critical mass until we bill about $5 million. Right from the start we have grown every year. We have been profitable every year except for the last two, because we made an acquisition where we overpaid and there were some problems until we changed management. That’s not unusual.
Who are your clients?
Utilities. Paper mills. Chemical plants. For our core business, engineering services, we work with clients from all over the country. We do international work with insurance companies. We were involved with the Malden Mills fire investigation – the cause and origin investigation. We did the damage assessment. Whenever you have a fire or explosion you have to determine what started or caused it. And what is really damaged? Often, you get soot, but you can wipe it off and clean it. The equipment may not be damaged. We have done jobs in Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Japan and Koreaso we do that widely. But these are just some of our activities.
Why were you so convinced that you could make Thielsch Engineering work?
It had to work. We’re very good at what we are doing. I’ve written books and articles. I’ve published a lot. We’re well known in the industry. We do save a lot of money for clients. We know how to repair equipment. An original equipment manufacturer may say a turbine is worn out and should be replaced. But we may look at it, see that it still has many years of life left in it. We’re very good at understanding equipment. In chemical plants, power plants, processing plantsthere is much equipment out there where the original manufacturer may want to replace it – but we look and see that by doing this or that, you can update it and still make a good profit out of the equipment.
You recently received the prestigious John J. Tuohy Award from the City of Cranston. What did that mean to you?
I was surprised. I was not expecting it. It doesn’t change my life – I am still working to continue to build this company. But it is an incentive in saying that we should build and grow and create opportunities for people.
You have been involved in engineering for a long time. How has the field evolved?
The engineering field is changing rapidly. There is so much technology. New advances. New systems.
How do you keep up with all that?
I read a lot. I’m usually crazy enough to work 80 hours a week. I was here Saturday. I was here Sunday.
How old are you?
How old do you think I am?
Fifty-two?
No, you’re lying. I’m 77. I enjoy what I am doing.
Do you ever think about retiring?
I wouldn’t know what to do. I’m not the only one. There are other people like that.
If you had not followed this career path, what one might you have followed?
My father was an engineer in Germany. He worked for the German General Electric. I always wanted to be an engineer. I have two sons who are both engineers. I would have ended up doing something in the engineering field.
I’m not going to get a different answer out of you than that, am I?
I always wanted to be an engineer. It’s always a challenge.
Do you enjoy the management side – the business owner side of the business?
Engineering gives you a lot of personal satisfaction because you solve a problem for a client. In building a business, there is frustration and satisfaction. Things never go quite the way you expect. You are always optimistic, because as a businessman you have to be optimistic. I do about 50 percent engineering work and 50 percent management or administration work They balance out.
Are the 22-year-olds coming out of college as prepared as you want them to be? Do they have the engineering skills they should?
No. They don’t know how to write anymore. They have a lot of enthusiasm, but they also expect a great deal out of life – beyond what the profession can give them. The philosophy now with a lot of the kids coming out of college is; ‘How can I have a good time?’ Not everyone is that way. We have people here who are young and ambitious and they want to get ahead. But a larger number now expect something, without putting the effort in. You have to grade your own people. Out of ten engineers we hire, probably two have an opportunity long-term to develop and grow. Some won’t put the effort in, and you don’t know this from talking to them. But you do the best you can. So someday they may leave, or you have to make a change. Because a business has to grow or you have problems.
