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After 24 years of working for someone else, John Wadsworth is now his own boss.
On Aug. 1, the 47-year-old mechanical engineer and former Koch Industries Inc. executive became the owner of Piping & Equipment Co. Inc., a 60-year-old Wichita mechanical contractor that has carved a niche in construction of piping and storage systems for petrochemical refineries, power plants and ethanol plants.
Wadsworth, who spent 13 years at Koch and its various entities, says in a way his role at P&E represents his career coming full circle.
At P&E, he says he'll be doing many of the same things he did at his first job in 1979 with Litwin Engineers & Constructors as a senior instrument engineer, including project design.
But this time around, hell be a business owner.
"Not only do I get to come in and build things, but I get to come in and build a company, too," he says.
Challenges and opportunities Wadsworth will have some building to do at P&E.
The $12 million company has been operating in a tough market the last two years, he says.
A sluggish economy, consolidation in the oil and...