Updates Archives Page 4 of 5 - Rani Engineering, LLC

Rani Engineering Celebrates 20 Years

Rani Engineering is celebrating 20 years of business in the Twin Cities.

Founded by Susan Park Rani in1993 with two employees working on water resources projects, the Minnesota-based company has a staff of over 40. Rani Engineering has since added land surveying and rail signal engineering services to complement its civil engineering group.

When accepting the ACEC/MN award as firm of the year in May, Rani said she knew there had been skeptics about a company that was owned by a woman who was also a minority. “That was then, and this is now,” she told the crowd.

Over the years, the company has been involved in a number of high-profile projects, including the expansion of the Weisman Art Museum on the University of Minnesota campus, development and construction of the Hiawatha and Central Corridor light rail projects, reconstruction of the I-35W bridge, and the Maryland Avenue bridge reconstruction across Interstate 35E. In December of 2012, Rani Engineering established an office in Dickinson, North Dakota.

Rani was selected by Gov. Mark Dayton for two international trade missions: to China in 2012 and to Europe in 2013. She has been a speaker at a number of national events, and in November 2012, she was chosen by the National Association of Women Business Owners-Minnesota (NAWBO-MN) to receive its 2012 Woman Pioneer Award.

The company has received numerous awards since its founding, including:

2013: Received ACEC/MN 2012-13 Firm of the Year.
2012: Named Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Contractor of the Year for 2012 by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
2010: Received Minneapolis – Saint Paul Business Journal Award for Minority Advocate.
2008: Received Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce Award to Celebrate Business Success.
2007: Received ACEC/MN Honor Award for TH-212 Design-Build.
2005: Received the Deubener Award from the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce. The company was recognized for its business success, for promoting growth, and for handling risk, diversity and innovation in a continuously changing and challenging environment.

Rani Engineering named ACEC/MN Firm of the Year

Awards, Employees, Recognition, Updates

“I never believed we would be standing here.” That was the sentiment expressed by Susan Park Rani upon receiving the 2013 Firm of the Year Award from ACEC/MN (American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota) on May 16.

Given annually, the award is presented to the ACEC/MN member firm(s) that, through their activities, have made a significant contribution to the advancement of ACEC/MN and the consulting engineering profession. The selection is based on activities by employees of the firm who have benefited the association and the profession and includes not only activities by the staff, but also general company policy.

“What we’ve done collectively at Rani Engineering is to put our heads down and work real hard, and hope that would translate into (potential clients) trying us out, winning contracts, and getting repeat clients,” Rani said in her remarks. “It did.”

Rani noted that there had been disbelievers over the years. “I know there were skeptics about our firm in its early days,” she said. “ ‘A woman- and minority-owned engineering firm–what was she thinking?’ Well, that was then and this is now.”

Of special importance was “a strong base of talented Minnesota firms that gave us opportunities” to learn from them, continue to grow, enhance areas of expertise and nurture staff, she said.

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota is the leading business practice and policy advocate for consulting engineering firms in Minnesota. Formed in 1949, ACEC/MN´s 150 member firms, representing more than 6,000 employees, provide services to all segments of society, including federal, state and local governments, private industry and the general public.

Rani participates at national ACEC conference

Business Development, Employees, Updates

Members of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) learned at the 2013 annual conference from Susan Park Rani about how a small business can be more effective and maneuver its way through often confusing national programs.

Rani, founder and president of Rani Engineering, was a speaker on “Navigating the Federal Credentialing Process for Small Firms” along with Major Clarke of the Small Business Administration and Warren Whitlock, associate administrator in the office of civil rights at the Federal Highway Administration. Issues discussed at the April event included federal programs for small businesses and expected trends in small business participation, along with program statutes and regulations overview, program intent, size standards, program goals and the achievement gap. Success stories and best practices by small and large businesses were also shared.

Rani Engineering, based in Minneapolis with offices in North Dakota and California, has over 40 employees and was founded in 1993.

ACEC is considered to be the voice of America’s engineering industry. The council numbers more than 5,000 firms representing more than 500,000 employees throughout the country.

Ribbon-cutting ceremony at Dickinson office makes it official

Business Development, Employees, Land Surveying, Site Engineering, Systems Engineering, Updates

Rani Engineering now has an established presence in Dickinson, N.D. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held March 5 at the firm’s office at 3214 – 111^th Ave. SW, Suite 102, despite a snowstorm that threatened to keep Susan Park Rani, PE and president of Rani Engineering, stuck in the Twin Cities.

Among those attending the event were Cooper Whitman of the Dickinson Chamber of Commerce, and Robert Swanson, PE, of Rani’s new office. Swanson, who will manage the office, grew up in Bismarck, N.D. He is a civil engineer who brings particular expertise in private development projects and K-12 schools.

Rani Engineering is pleased to have a presence in Dickinson as the firm takes a more active role in the increased development in North Dakota. Rani focuses primarily on three areas of discipline: civil engineering, land surveying, and rail signal engineering. The company currently is working on a number of land surveying and rail signal projects under way in North Dakota.

Founded in 1993 by Susan Park Rani and two employees, Rani Engineering has more than 40 employees and has been involved with projects throughout the Midwest, Oklahoma, Washington, Oregon, and California.

Susan Park Rani Honored as “Pioneer”

Awards, Employees, Recognition, Updates

The National Association of Women Business Owners-Minnesota (NAWBO-MN) chose Susan Park Rani, president of Rani Engineering, to receive its 2012 Woman Pioneer Award. The honor was presented Wednesday, Nov. 7, at the NAWBO-MN Achieve! Awards Event at the Graves 601 Hotel in Minneapolis.

NAWBO-MN provides a local avenue for women entrepreneurs to connect with their peers. Female owners of businesses large and small join together for regular networking, educational programs, mentorship and support.

Nationally, NAWBO was founded in 1975 to open doors for women entrepreneurs by transforming public policy and leveling the playing field. Representing the issues and concerns of women-owned businesses at the national, state and local levels, NAWBO is in the forefront of advocating on behalf of women business owners and the issues that have an impact on their companies.

Rani speaks at WTS at Regional Transportation Authority in Chicago

Business Development, Employees, Recognition, Updates

Susan Park Rani, founder and president of Rani Engineering, was one of two featured speakers at a professional development panel at the Regional Transportation Authority in Chicago on Oct. 30.

The presentation was sponsored by the Greater Chicago Chapter of WTS Advancing Women in Transportation. Rani Engineering, which has numerous civil engineering and surveying projects, is especially growing in rail signal engineering.

Ms. Rani joined Deborah Sawyer, founder and president of EDI (Environmental Design International) of Chicago, to speak about challenges and issues of entrepreneurship in the fields of engineering and transportation. Ms. Sawyer started her career as an environmental scientist and recently received Chicago Magazine’s Green Award.

The panel was moderated by Emma Kowalenko, senior environmental planner and president of Kowalenko Consulting Group Inc., (KCG).

Founded in 1977, WTS was initially created as “Women’s Transportation Seminars.” It is now an international organization with more than 5,000 members.