The Early Days of Delphinus Engineering
In March 1994, Ranjit Das made a bold decision to resign and start his own company. Over the next few months, he worked diligently to lay the foundation for Delphinus Engineering, developing a comprehensive company capability and qualification presentation, creating business cards, and crafting an engagement plan. This plan aimed to market engineering services to commercial nuclear power plants and provide environmental remediation support to the Department of Energy. By August 1994, Delphinus Engineering was officially incorporated, marking the beginning of a new venture with a clear focus and direction.
In those formative days, Ranjit wore many hats—not only serving as President but also taking on the role of lead engineer, generating the majority of the company’s revenue. He traveled extensively to power plants in Louisiana, New Jersey, and New York, supporting their efforts to comply with NRC regulations. During his travels, he also worked on marketing to DOE prime contractors, including Bechtel Hanford.
In September 1994, Bechtel Hanford invited Delphinus to submit a pre-qualification application and register as a subcontractor. This invitation was a pivotal moment for Delphinus. Just weeks later, Delphinus was invited to submit a competitive proposal to modernize the electrical, heating, ventilation and monitoring systems at two plutonium processing facilities in Hanford, WA. In February 1995, the exciting news came that Delphinus had been awarded the project.
For the next two months, Ranjit focused on preparing the conceptual design, calculations, and drawings for the project. Once these deliverables were accepted, the project moved into the preliminary design phase. The workload proved to be overwhelming for Ranjit alone, so he reached out to Roby Lentz, whom he had recruited for a position months earlier. In May 1995, with Roby joining as the first full-time employee, they completed the preliminary design, final design, contractor selection, and provided construction oversight for the duration of the work.
Thus marked the first year of Delphinus Engineering, a period characterized by determination, growth, and the foundational efforts that set the stage for the company’s future success.