September 2007 Issue
PROFILE
Living the Immigrant’s Dream
Personal drive and determination helped Janko Misic, P.Eng., get where he is today. But support and loyalty from others were also important, says the founder of Edmonton’s Techna-West.
BY NORDAHL FLAKSTAD
Freelance Writer
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A Dreamer’s Story |
He lies on the grass of a soccer pitch and stares into the summer sky above his homeland of Bosnia-Herzegovina, imagining a future in North America. This archetypical dreamer is a young version of Janko Misic, P.Eng., who would one day become an amiable stalwart in Alberta’s consulting engineering community — without forgetting what got him there.
To unfold the way it did, his story required hope, sacrifice, perseverance and, sometimes, good luck. It also took the goodwill and foresight of family, friends and even strangers.
In his most recent chapter, Dr. Misic has time to reflect, because the respected engineer has now wound up day-to-day responsibilities with what used to be Techna-West Engineering Ltd.
In March 2006, Jacobs Engineering Group of Pasadena, Calif. — a company with some 60,000 employees worldwide — purchased Techna-West, which has built a reputation extending far beyond its humble Edmonton origins. The sale is not a bad finale for Techna-West, which Dr. Misic formed in 1978 and first ran from the basement of his home in Edmonton’s Duggan district.
During the past year of transition, Jacobs retained Dr. Misic as vice-president
of Edmonton operations.
Besides sound engineering, Dr. Misic traces the success of Techna-West to “dedication,
service, flexibility, quick responses and the care that we offered.” Sometimes,
that meant dealing with a call on Saturday for work needed Monday morning.
“A key thing for us was being able to put ourselves in clients’ shoes and to exceed their expectations. Many of these clients became friends.”
While Techna-West’s sale might seem like a David joining forces with Goliath, Dr. Misic sees the companies as a logical fit. “Like Techna-West, Jacobs is very much relationship based and, despite its size, focused on its people.”
A Parental Gift
That kind of people-first attitude goes back a long way for Dr. Misic. His parents
ran a farm near the village of Gradacac in what was then Yugoslavia. Somehow,
the family managed to give two of five children a higher education.
Janko, the second youngest, was sent to surveying school in Sarajevo and then studied civil engineering at the University of Zagreb. After a brief stint of engineering in Yugoslavia, he left for graduate studies in Canada — a country that fascinated him after he’d read about the 1967 Expo in Montreal.
Unlike its eastern bloc neighbours, 1960s Yugoslavia was fairly tolerant about citizens travelling abroad, including to study. Dr. Misic applied for and got scholarship offers from the universities of British Columbia, Toronto and Alberta.
He chose U of A partly because a friend was already studying there, but also because of the university’s renown in structural engineering.
When he went to the Canadian embassy in Belgrade for his student visa, staff asked the hopeful grad student if he had a ticket to Canada. The answer was no. But with the embassy’s help, U of A agreed to advance the travel money, which was paid back in installments from the bursary.
Dr. Misic hasn’t forgotten the university’s flexibility, or the embassy’s. “I was so grateful to the Canadian embassy that, to this day, I still write a thank-you note at Christmas.”
The ticket got him and a sole piece of luggage to Edmonton in August 1968.
A key thing for us was being able to put ourselves in
clients’ shoes and to exceed their expectations. Many of these clients
became friends.
- Janko Misic, P.Eng.
Cold Weather, Warm Welcome
Living in U of A’s Athabasca Hall, the young Yugoslav was not overly fazed
that the winter of 1968-69 was among the harshest on record in Edmonton. The
cold was offset by the warmth and friendliness of students, and particularly
professors.
His professors were Dr. Sid Simmonds, P.Eng., Dr. Joe Warwaruk, P.Eng., Dr. Jim MacGregor, P.Eng., Dr. Peter Adams, P.Eng., Dr. Geoffrey Kulak, P.Eng., and Dr. David Murray, P.Eng., and others — many of whom Dr. Misic still counts as close friends.
He especially appreciated a more relaxed approach than he was accustomed to. “Sometimes profs would come in and say, ‘Sorry, I’m not prepared for the lecture today — let’s go and have a coffee.’ That would never have happened in the more stuffy European university — I liked the informality and it was conducive to learning and research.”
He worked with Dr. Simmonds and Dr. Warwaruk on several articles for the Journal of the American Concrete Institute, and some of the findings made it into building codes.
After completing his master’s in 1970, Misic was encouraged to pursue further studies on combined loading in pre-stressed concrete, which led to a PhD in 1974.
An offer came to join the U of A faculty, but Dr. Misic — by now married to his Yugoslav fiancée, Milica, who joined him in Canada in 1970 — decided his future lay in the private sector.
With considerably improved English, Dr. Misic passed APEGGA’s professional practice exams. He was hired by Stanley & Associates and then W.J. Francl & Associates, where he headed the civil and structural department.
Dr. Misic worked for Kris Nyhus, P.Eng., at Francl and the two have remained
friends. Mr. Nyhus went on to work with Alberta Environment, but after leaving
the government, Dr. Misic hired him at Techna-West.
Mr. Nyhus is not surprised by his friend’s success. “I really liked
working with Janko,” he says. “He was always so open and friendly,
and he really deals well with clients — that was his biggest plus. He is
good at organizing and getting people involved.”
Early Company Days
Besides Dr. Misic’s drive and determination, Techna-West in its infancy
had few assets beyond a few drafting tables and diplomas. The first commission
was designing a potable-water pump house for the Town of Sylvan Lake.
A structural engineer, the late David Cheung, was hired within the first year. Some time later, Dr. Misic hired two key employees. Mahary Gregory, P.Eng., and architectural designer Rolly Marcos would eventually become shareholders and mainstays as Techna-West expanded and made four moves. Eventually, the firm settled into offices at 106th Street and 100th Avenue.
Techna-West staff reached 75 by the time it joined forces with Jacobs. Over
the years, it was engaged in a wide range of projects — up to 1,000 of them
with Suncor alone — and weatherproofed itself by diversifying from structural
work into a range of other disciplines. These eventually included mechanical,
electrical, instrumentation, environmental, project management and architectural
support.
Besides Suncor, among other major clients were Turbo, Syncrude and Inland Cement,
for which Techna-West has completed more than 400 projects, including a major
expansion of a Maryland cement plant owned by Inland’s parent company.
Led by Siegmar Seida, P.Eng., Techna-West developed specialized expertise in
designing fall-protection systems.
Techna-West actually benefited from Alberta’s 1980s slowdown, which led several large engineering firms to withdraw. In more than a quarter century of operation, in fact, Techna-West never recorded a loss.
And the work has always been up to high standards. Recognition came in the form of Showcase Awards of excellence and merit from the Consulting Engineers of Alberta, an organization where Dr. Misic has served as a director. Techna-West also received a CEA International Showcase Award of Excellence for the Maryland project and further recognition from the American Concrete Institute.
Transition Time
The class act continued after the sale to Jacobs. Although Dr. Misic recognizes
that such changeovers can be painful if not handled properly, he credits senior
Jacobs management for an orderly integration into their operations. Just one
employee and no clients were lost in the process.
“Greg Landry, an executive vice-president with Jacobs, handled us with
lots of care and class. He also introduced me to the world of big business.”
But the right people were always in the mix at Techna-West. “It has been a tremendous help to me that I surrounded myself with very good and loyal people.”
Michelle Hauge, who began with Techna-West in 1990 as an HVAC designer and now is a project manager, believes that loyalty is well-deserved. She tells of Dr. Misic going out of his way to avoid layoffs even when — with employees’ backing — it meant job-sharing and reduced hours.
“This company has a lot of reten-tiveness,” she says. “Janko treats people very much like family rather than employees. I’ll really miss him.”
The sentiments are mutual, but Dr. Misic has plenty to keep him busy. Immediate plans call for travelling and spending more time with family, including two daughters and four grandchildren. He will also continue his role as an active supporter of the local Bosnia-Herzegovinian community.
Nor has he forgotten his land of origin, particularly the pain caused by recent wars. The Misics have personally sponsored more than 40 Yugoslav refugees to come to Canada.
“All of them have been successful,” Janko says, “and none had to depend on public support. It is gratifying for us and we hope those we helped will now help others.”
After all, Janko Misic knows how far a little help can take you.