Ben Voss, P.Eng.

What is your personal background (hometown, schools, family, etc.)?

I was born in Spiritwood, SK, which is in Northwest Saskatchewan. I grew up on a cattle and grain farm as the eldest of 4 children and attended elementary and high school in Spiritwood. I graduated high school in 1993, then moved to Saskatoon and attended engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. After I graduated in 1999, I started my own company, worked for several years, and then met my wife whom I married in 2005. Today we have 3 children. We lived in Saskatoon for many years then accepted an adventure to live in Sioux Falls, South Dakota where we have been since 2021. We decided recently to return to live in Regina to be closer to family and I will be commuting to Sioux Falls for work.

Why did you choose engineering and what is your area of specialty?

My degree is in Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering and in general, my specialty has been focused on farm machinery design as well as bioenergy systems. Today, most of my engineering time is spent on advanced automation and autonomous farm equipment.

Where and when did you study engineering/get your degree and how would you describe your experience?

I studied from 1993 to 1999 at the U of S, spent one year on a work term in Germany (1994-95), and had one year of internship (1997-1998). I have been blessed with an incredible set of experiences, including working all over the world in a variety of roles.

What jobs/roles have you held as an engineer?

Most of my time has been spent in leadership roles, as President & CEO, but I’ve also stayed quite close to invention and design areas and hold several patents in farm machinery. In my current role as a sales executive, I am part of a very large company, something that I had not experienced before. Raven, which is now part of CNH Industrial, is a multinational company with tens of thousands of employees, is publicly traded and works in many segments of agriculture. My team consists mostly of engineers and agronomists and we work closely with farm machinery manufacturers to supply them with technology to automate farm equipment and offer precision agriculture technology solutions to farmers.

What have you appreciated about your career opportunities and experiences?

I am most grateful to always have amazing mentors and teachers throughout my career. I thoroughly enjoy lifelong learning and am curious to a fault. I think that every career experience has always exposed me to some amazing adventures.

Who has inspired or mentored you in your career? What insight or wisdom did they impart?

I have had some amazing mentors in my career. Too many to mention, but one person who had a great impact on my life was George Spark, a fellow engineer who made a great impact on my life. Bob McDonald, who retired from APEGS recently, was also a great influence on my career. I also greatly valued the mentorship of Ernie Barber, who was department head when I graduated but went on to be Dean of Engineering and the Dean of Agriculture.

What activities or interests do you enjoy outside of work?

I enjoy many hobbies and interests. My wife and I own our farm near Spiritwood, where we have a nice home we built. I do really love farming, where I have been growing grain crops for the last 10 years. We also enjoy travelling and I am an active snowboarding and snow-mobile enthusiast.

Anything else you want to say?

I have always valued my relationship with APEGS and really appreciate their interest in my story.