In 1959, John A. Franken laid the groundwork for Interstates Engineering when he hired Darrel Ramhorst, a young student looking for summer job, to help complete electrical installations for his company.

Our Commitment Though the services may have changed since the early years of Interstates Engineering, the basic philosophy of seeking to understand their clients’ needs and deliver superior results is a core value for Interstates Engineering’s past, present, and future.

Darrel went on to earn an electrical engineering degree from South Dakota State University, his master’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and was hired by Interstates in 1968.

Darrel’s start with Interstates began the move towards engineering services. His responsibility for the company at that time was to prepare drawings for crews to use while wiring feed mills; Interstates wasn’t “selling” independent engineering services yet.

Engineering feed mills and grain storage elevators were the source of much of Interstates’ work in the 1970s, and the company became an industry expert in hazardous area electrical design. Expanding on the knowledge of feed mills, Interstates began providing engineering and construction in flour mills.

Also at this time, control systems and graphics entered the computer age, and a feed mill project in North Carolina led to the development of computer-based control systems. This project was completed when the programming group was still a part of the engineering department, but it led to the formation of a separate control systems group and later Interstates Control Systems, Inc.

In November of 1977, Darrel Ramhorst passed his P.E. exam and registered as an electrical engineer in some 30 states. This marked the start of having a licensed engineering department.

Another development of Interstates’ experience in the feed mill industry was the design of electrical systems for pet food plants and becoming more involved in the development of the extruding process.

In the 1980s, the company took a significant leap forward when it began designing electrical systems for soybean extraction plants, thus making it necessary to develop expertise in Class I hazardous areas.

This was also when engineering began doing design-bid packages for other contractors to bid from. Through offering these expanded services, in 1989 the engineering department doubled in personnel.

In the 1990s, the company’s knowledge of Class I hazardous areas helped it move into engineering for the emerging industry of renewable fuels. The engineering department also began doing international work and providing more “stand alone” engineering services.

The demand for electrical engineering services doubled the engineering group’s size again. Also in the ‘90s, for the first time Interstates placed an engineer and draftsman onsite for an extended period of time. This was a new level of client service, meeting client needs as they arose at the jobsite. In September 1998, the engineering group became incorporated as Interstates Engineering.

In 2001, Doug Post was named president of Interstates Engineering after the retirement of Darrel Ramhorst. Interstates Engineering continued to expand, and in 2007 the engineering team moved to a new campus, a facility located east of the Interstates headquarters.

With the demand for reduced energy costs and “green” building design, the engineering group’s services have expanded to include energy studies and expertise in reducing clients’ operating costs.

Though the services may have changed since the early years of Interstates Engineering, the basic philosophy of seeking to understand their clients’ needs and deliver superior results is a core value for Interstates Engineering’s past, present, and future.