From a dorm room dream turned small business at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1989, to an international presence in BIM (Building Information Modelling), Chris Di Iorio, electrical engineer by trade and now CEO and co-founder of ENGworks, has been on and has helped shape the journey of CAD (Computer Aided Design) since its infancy. His dream has new digs as well: ENGworks has U.S. offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Dallas; Latin American offices in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia; and a Middle East office in Kuwait. Di Iorio
attributes ENGworks’ success to the company’s ability to “work in the whole life-cycle of AECO [Architectural Engineering Construction and Operations] simultaneously.” Furthermore, he does not hesitate to brand his company with a “best-in-breed” label – and with good reason.
By David MacDonald W hat sets ENGworks apart from other MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) Engineering-centric compa- nies is at the core of their business culture: they are not only technologists but true practitioners. “Today BIM users have to know multiple platforms,” stresses Di Iorio, “and they must have knowledge in multiple areas. It’s not just about modelling - you have to know about installation; you have to know about the engineering systems.” This Renaissance Man business model has been a driving force in Di Iorio’s personal and professional life. “I’m an electrical engineer by trade. My father was a mechanical engineer, an Associate Partner, for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for over 40 years, so I’ve lived it my whole life.” Di Iorio proudly recalls his father purchasing him his first PC in 1981 – which has since become a decorative piece in his Chicago office – in the days of “no hard drives and DOS 1.0.” With motivation and encouragement at home from a role-model who succeeded in the pre-CAD days of professional engineering, Di Iorio’s vision for his PC was markedly different from the Microsoft Flight Simulator-driven gamers of the early 1980s. By the end of the decade, a collegiate Di Iorio owned a successful start-up, SimplyCAD , and was building “computers in the advent of the server, actually
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS • JULY 2016
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