Corporate Team
Frank O. Welch, President — With more than 30 years of construction experience in the pipeline and petrochemical industries, Mr. Welch has been with Rockford Corporation since 1999, becoming President in 2005. Prior to coming to Rockford, Mr. Welch served as Manager of Construction and Vice President for H.C. Price from 1974 until 1991. He has extensive experience on pipeline installations in environmentally sensitive areas in all parts of the United States.
Phil Day, Chief Operating Officer — Over 35 Years experience managing construction and service businesses. Employed by Bechtel in field engineering and management positions during Trans Alaska Pipeline and in later in Kuwait. Developed H.C. Price operations in Alaska including divisions performing pipeline and process facility construction on the North Slope. Joined Nabors Industries to establish Peak Oilfield Services in Alaska and to oversee business operations in Yemen. Formed IPS to develop independent power generation projects, which was subsequently acquired by a power utility company. Phil is responsible for developing operational and business practices at Rockford.
John Murakami, Chief Financial Officer — With more than 30 years of financial experience in various heavy manufacturing industries, including steel and concrete pipe manufacturer, road construction and underground mining equipment. Mr. Murakami joined Rockford Corporation in 2009 and oversees the financial and information technology operations.
Patrick T. Rockford, Secretary / Treasurer — Mr. Rockford has served on various projects in the Western United States and Alaska and has been with Rockford Corporation since 1995. He currently manages all California and maintenance operations. Mr. Rockford holds degrees in both Business Administration and Civil Engineering Technology.
Josh Ramsey, Vice President Pipeline Division — Mr. Ramsey brings to Rockford over 16 years of experience in the pipeline industry. Since joining Rockford in 2002, Mr. Ramsey has served as Project Engineer and Project Manager on projects ranging from 12" to 42" in diameter and up to 225 miles in length. Prior to getting his degree in Construction Management, Mr. Ramsey worked as a Field Engineer and laborer on several large pipeline projects for various pipeline construction companies. This experience exposed him to the detailed workings of almost all pipeline crews.
Clifford Gleave, Corporate Safety Manager — With more than 25 years of shipyard, general industry and construction experience, Mr. Gleave administers a comprehensive risk management program inclusive of safety and environmental compliance inspections within safety oversight to Rockford Corporation employees, subcontractors and staff; writes safety and environmental compliance programs; overviews safety meetings, audits and training; resolves safety concerns; ensures compliance with state and federal standards; supports project management teams in evaluating job site hazards to minimize risk while maximizing productivity and profitability. Effective reduction in incident rates by developing and implementing comprehensive safety programs that emphasize top management support, supervisory responsibility, and individual employee participation.
Field Team
Mickey Langston, Superintendent — With nearly 40 years of pipeline construction experience, Mr. Langston has served as superintendent on multiple large diameter projects for Rockford since 2004. Most recently, Mr. Langston acted as superintendent on Rockford's 30 mile spread of the 42" REX Project for Kinder Morgan. Prior to coming to Rockford, Mickey served as tie-in foreman and Assistant Superintendent for H.C. Price from 1994 until 2003. He has tied-in in some of the toughest conditions in the world, worked mostly with large diameter pipe, and dealt with all sorts of environmental restrictions and conditions. Mickey has worked for most major contractors including: Murphy Bros., Sheehan, and Welded. Mr. Langston was superintendent for R.B. Potashnick from 1983 to 1991. Prior to that, he ran a contractor's training school in Canada for automatic welding (Marine, Majestic, and O.J Pipelines). Mickey broke out in the pipeline business as operator and technician on CRC Automatic welding machines in London, England, in 1971.
Dickey Langston, Superintendent — With nearly 40 years of pipeline construction experience, Mr. Langston has served as assistant superintendent on multiple large diameter projects for Rockford since 2004. Most recently, Mr. Langston acted as assistant superintendent on Rockford's 31.4 mile spread of the 42" REX Project for Kinder Morgan. Prior to coming to Rockford, Mr. Langston served as tie-in foreman, testing foreman, and assistant superintendent for H.C. Price from 1994 until 2003. He has experience in some of the toughest conditions in the world, worked mostly with large diameter pipe, and dealt with a range of environmental restrictions and regulations. Mr. Langston has worked for most major contractors including: Murphy Bros., Sheehan, and Welded. He was superintendent for R.B. Potashnick from 1983 to 1991. Prior to working in the pipeline industry, Mr. Langston ran a contractor's training school in Canada for automatic welding (Marine, Majestic, and O.J Pipelines). Mr. Langston broke out in the pipeline business as operator and technician on CRC Automatic welding machines in London, England, in 1969.
John Merrick, Superintendent — John Merrick most recently served as Project Superintendent of Rockford Corporation's 54 mile 42" Gulf Crossing project for Boardwalk pipeline in Texarkana, Texas. Mr. Merrick brings over thirty (30) years of pipeline construction experience. Throughout the 90's, Mr. Merrick served as a assistant superintendent on most of the nation's largest pipeline projects. In 1997-1998, Mr. Merrick went overseas as superintendent for Willbros on the 42" Pertamina Project in Indonesia. Mr. Merrick joined Rockford Corporation as superintendent on the 24" South Mist Loop project for NW Natural in 1999.
Jim Ruhwedel, Project Manager — With 30 years experience in the pipeline and heavy construction industry (30 years of arctic projects), Mr. Ruhwedel was a project Manager on a variety of hard dollar and unit price construction projects. He was also a Maintenance and Modification Manager on a multi-million dollar contract for Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. Mr. Ruhwedel has initiated aggressive safety and quality programs throughout his career, in addition to extensive involvement in partnering and Total Quality Management (TQM). Mr Ruhwedel has a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Santa Clara.
Bill Davison, Washington Manager — Mr. Davison has been in the construction industry for over 25 years. He has been in field management for various pipeline companies since the early '90s. Mr. Davison currently oversees our Washington division and most projects in the Northwest region.
Mark Borges, Southwest Division Manager — Mr. Borges worked as a project manager and estimator on small civil, mechanical, pipeline and distribution projects throughout the 1990s. In 2002 Mr. Borges came to work for Rockford Corporation to grow and expand our mechanical and civil capabilities in the Southwest. Past milestone projects include building a grass roots Compressor station for Lodi Gas, Ethanol upgrades for Kinder Morgan's terminals and a pipeline relocation project for Chevron which included directional drills in excess of one mile in length.