Robert Allan Receives Meritorious Achievement Award
Bob Stewart, P.Eng., President of EGBC with Rob Allan (Mike Crane Photography)
2017 President’s Awards Recipients (Mike Crane Photography)
Rob Allan was presented with the Meritorious Achievement Award as one of the President’s Awards conferred by Engineers & Geoscientists British Columbia (EGBC) on October 20, 2017 at their Annual Award Gala held in Whistler, BC. This award is given annually to a member of the Association who has achieved distinction and outstanding goals associated with his/her profession.
Allan has over 45 years of experience in the design of commercial workboats of all types, but especially high-performance tugboats for tanker escort and offshore terminal operations. From 1981 until 2008 when company ownership was transferred to a cadre of senior employees, he led Robert Allan Ltd. to a position of international prominence in this field. Notable achievements under his leadership include; major ice-breaking vessels for the Beaufort Sea and more recently the Caspian Sea and offshore Sakhalin; the Red Dot Award-winning Z-Tech ship-handling tug concept; and the development of the RAstar concept of escort tug which has revolutionized the conduct of tanker escort operations.
In the course of his career, Allan has authored many dozens of papers for international industry technical conferences, and contributed chapters on tug and workboat design to the major textbooks of SNAME. He is the recipient of the Small Craft Group Medal from the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (UK) for significant lifetime achievements in naval architecture; the Beaver Medal for significant contributions to the maritime industry of British Columbia; and he is the only Canadian to have been awarded the David W. Taylor Medal from SNAME for notable achievement in naval architecture.
In accepting this award, Allan paid tribute to the many talented employees of Robert Allan Ltd., past and present, whose hard work and commitment have enabled the company’s success. In particular, he acknowledged the significant contributions to the company of long-time colleagues Hans Muhlert and Ken Harford.
The receipt of this major award from EGBC caps a significant and fulfilling career, as Allan announced his retirement from full employment in June of this year. He remains as Executive Chairman of the Board and as “Ambassador at Large” for Robert Allan Ltd., the company founded by his Grandfather in 1930.
