Mike Howell is the owner of Arrow Engineering in Morgantown, West Virginia. His structural engineering business focuses on commercial, industrial and residential projects. Arrow Engineering is a new and upcoming business here in the mountain state as it has only been open for a few years but has successfully taken off.
Howell was a guest on The Positively West Virginia Podcast. He talked with podcast host Jim Matuga about his upcoming engineering business and some big known projects he has done in the past.
What Is Your 30-Second Pitch For Arrow Engineering?
“Arrow Engineering is a structural engineering firm specializing in any project in the residential, commercial or industrial market. We pride ourselves on delivering the highest quality designs and reports with the most detailed project specifications. We go above and beyond to make sure our designs can be built in the field. Something that I have a lot of passion for is making sure the design is the best it can be built for our clients,” said Howell.
What Separates Your Business From Other Engineering Firms?
“We all essentially design things out of the same books; every engineer is using the same building codes. I think two things that really separate us are the passion that I try to have with things being constructible since I come from a construction background. It is very important for me to make sure that I am providing clear and concise instructions for the designs that we do. The other thing is the humility of serving, it is an honor and a privilege to serve our clients. It is something that you get into the weeds of the design and that passion fuels you through. You want to see the best product come out because it will help your client the most,” stated Howell.
What Is The Vision For Arrow Engineering Long Term?
“I always joke and say that I’ll know I have made it when we get a call to design a major league sports stadium; that is my design goal of what I want to get to eventually. To get to that goal, there are a lot of other steps that would have to happen. I think the more immediate goal is just to continue to grow and find new ways to serve our clients. More specifically, I am in desperate need to add another senior-level engineer because I think that would be a big step right now. Long term though, I want to be the name people think of when they think of structural engineering, whether it be in this area or a greater area,” stated Howell.
Share Some of Your Background
“My very first project when I was a rookie engineer was the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Washington, D.C., where I was a low league construction field engineer. Within the first week of being on that, I was on the Discovery Channel as part of one of their engineering shows that they used to do. That was a cool project as it was my very first project, and it was a two hundred million dollar transportation project outside of the Capital. I have also worked on the Mylan Park aquatics center here in Morgantown, WV. Another building I worked on was the West Virginia University baseball park, which is special because I still take my kids to it, which brings back memories of spending late nights there working on it,” said Mike Howell.
Growing up in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, Mike’s love of construction began at a young age. One summer, Mike helped his dad build a deck on the back of their house, and his passion for building structures grew. The aspiring engineer was active with construction mission trips throughout high school and worked with a residential contractor during college summers. He went on to get his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a Masters of Business Administration from West Virginia University. Mike is an active member and past branch President of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a past chair of the Richmond Joint Engineers Council, a past delegate to the Emerging Leaders Alliance and a past President and current member of the BNI Mountaineer Chapter. Additionally, he’s an active and past board member of several local organizations such as Pace Enterprises, the Bartlett House and the Spark Imagination and Science Center. He is a coach in local youth sports, and he resides in Morgantown, West Virginia, with his two children.
Howell was a guest on the Positively West Virginia Podcast. Listen to the full podcast here.
PWV QUICK BITS | MIKE HOWELL
- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: How I Built This by Guy Raz
- RECOMMENDED RESOURCE: 3-D Modeling
- PIECE OF ADVICE: “Have some confidence in yourself and realize that usually, the hardest part is taking the leap,” advised Mike Howell.