Len C. Rodmanhas been chairman, president and CEO of Black & Veatch, the Overland Park, Kan.-based international engineer-constructor that specializes in power and water infrastructure, since 2000. He has worked for the employee-owned firm since 1971. B&V ranks 14th on ENR’s list of the Top 500 Design Firms and 34th on its list of the Top 400 Construction Firms. On Jan. 12, he sat down with ENR editors in New York City.
ENR: How is the economic recovery going?
罗德曼：我谨慎乐观和看涨。但是华盛顿需要制定能源政策。客户很怀疑。高昂的成本新利18备用官网登录使决策变得困难。没有设定政策的清晰度，很难看到终点线。我希望看到政府坚持政策，并让行业发展解决方案。
Are carbon capture and sequestration still feasible options?
RODMAN
Absolutely, but we will have to consider the impact on the cost of power. Carbon capture is an expensive price tag to add to existing systems. Will customers pay extra when the quality of power is no different? We are progressing to a low-carbon economy, but we can’t afford now to just turn off the switch to coal. There must be a plan. There’s a lot of wind in western Kansas, but you need transmission facilities, and they are expensive.
美国可以从其他国家学习什么课？
Countries like Singapore are better at resource recovery. It wants to be water-autonomous and not dependent on Malaysia. Singapore exports technology leadership. I’d like the U.S. more in tune with that. We don’t value water enough here. We have to think of it like a fuel. Australia is already convinced that hydrogeologic cycles are changing. It has desalination projects in place that are powered by wind and solar energy. But our largest single project is a coal-fired power-plant in South Africa. Apartheid put the country behind the curve on power development, and it’s trying to catch up.
How are you coping with the funding squeeze in U.S. public-sector infrastructure?
将会有许多城市破产。我们对此没有很多历史，但是我们正在制定一项计划来帮助客户。我们的基础设施管理小组发现融资可以管理资产，而无需客户放弃所有权。我们现在正在与几个客户讨论这一点，我们正在与投资者合作，看看是否可以找到正确的匹配。该模型不是火箭科学，但是您必须将合适的人聚集在一起，并进行思考。
您如何寻求增长？获取有潜力吗？
当今经济中有很多现金，而B＆V拥有一个很棒的品牌，并且在全球范围内都处于良好的市场空间。很多人认为该公司会做出一个良好的奖杯，但是我们自己的员工也是如此。增长对我们很重要 - 您这样做如何有所不同。但是我的目标是增加我们的服务价值链。去年，我们获得了Enspiria，这在智能电网上很重要。我们希望更多的施工能力。我们还需要更多的启动和调试，这是一个差异化的人。从头到尾提供服务可以使实体在技术方面具有创造力和创新性。客户不想再做这些决定了。
