This month The Professional Edge chats with Kelvin Luedtke, P.Eng.
Tell us about your personal and professional background.
I was born in Lampman and raised on the family farm that my grandfather homesteaded in the Willmar community. I went through to grade 11 in Willmar and completed grade 12 in Carlyle.
Why did you choose to go into engineering?
I worked for my father on the farm for a year after high school but the economy wasn’t favourable for farming at that time so I went to work as a petroleum battery operator in Alida. Working in the petroleum sector, a number of my peers had their petroleum technical training which paid better.
So, for the sake of career advancement, I took the two-year course at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. But I wanted to take my career further to the level of the professional engineers. I worked in construction supervision for Imperial Oil for one year to save money and then went to the University of Wyoming to study petroleum engineering. Canadian universities had stopped offering petroleum engineering because of the recession.
What was your biggest challenge in college?
My biggest challenge was settling down to full-time studies after being in the workplace. But that was also a motivator because I knew what the end result would be and anticipated a better career because of it.
What was your first job after college?
I went back to work for Imperial Oil in Calgary. I was sent as a resident civil engineer a construction job in Rainbow Lake, AB – about as far north as year can go – where I supervised about 100 workers.
A number of equally interesting and challenging jobs have followed since then over the course of my 40 years in petroleum engineering.
What do you feel was your single greatest accomplishment as an engineer?
There are many I can think of. At one point, I supervised all of the Imperial Oil engineers in Saskatchewan and southern Alberta, a group of about 25 professionals. That was a tremendous experience in teamwork and mentorship.
Also in the mentorship vein, for three years I was seconded by HR to Imperial’s recruitment team. I visited every university and technical school west of Winnipeg to scout potential employees. My assessment from that period is that the future of the profession is in good hands.
Probably the highlight of my career was working for 10 years as an engineering supervisor for Nexen’s operations in Yemen. It was a tremendous experience living and working in a different culture. I had only signed on for one year but I liked it so much I stayed for 10.
What was your experience like in Yemen?
We worked with a multi-national group who had been educated in different places – the US, Russia, Europe – but the working language at the camps was English. I found it fascinating how my Yemeni colleagues continually had to think on a multi-lingual basis. They had been trained in Russian which they then had to translate back into Arabic and then into English.
The camps and the travel were all-expenses-paid. We worked 12-hour days, five weeks in, five weeks out. So, there was a lot of air travel involved. I’ve calculated that my air travel adds up to enough miles to circle the globe 50 times.
Yemeni people are very friendly and family oriented. In their culture, you don’t just talk about work or talk about the weather. They want to know about your family and how they’re doing.
It breaks my heart to see Yemen now torn apart by civil war, especially since it’s a war sponsored by outside interests. It’s a real shame.
What are your interests outside of work?
I enjoy all the outdoor sports. I love golfing. I continue to help run a small family farm with about 60 head of cattle. I’m an RM councillor and a director of the local co-op. I’m active with the Lions Club in Carlyle and the Optimists Club in Arcola.
Have you ever met anyone famous?
Not famous so much but prominent. When I lived in Yemen, the local ambassadors – American, French, Italian – were obsessive bridge players and were always looking for a fourth. My mother, who learned the game from an infamous master of the game from Carlyle, taught me the basics so they regularly invited me over regularly to fill the bridge table.
What is your favourite vacation spot?
My family has travelled a few places – most recently to the Bahamas. When I worked in Yemen, on my off weeks I would sometimes connect with my family in Europe. But mostly we holiday at White Bear Lake where we enjoy boating and lake activities.
What do you do for professional development?
The work that I do with service clubs contributes to my public speaking and other softer skills. I’ve also attended numerous conferences and will do more once the oil industry picks up again.
Who had the greatest influence on your life and career?
I had huge support from my entire family. My parents, uncles and aunts all helped point my siblings and me in the right career directions. My mom was a school teacher, so she stressed the importance of education. My dad in addition to farming, was an RM councillor, headed up a hail insurance business and was one of the founders of the Lions Club in Carlyle. Growing up in that environment, my siblings and I learned to serve others, pursue worthwhile careers, get good training and pass that on to next generation.