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Cecil DelaCruz, president and CEO of Viking Engineering + Construction, is a mechanical engineer by training, and started his career as a diffusion engineer in the semiconductor industry. When his employer wanted to build a new fabrication plant, they asked if anyone internally was interested in serving as the owner鈥檚 representative to interface with the general contractor.

鈥淢ost of my work at the time was in a think-tank environment, trying to figure out how to squeeze more information into smaller chips, so I jumped at the opportunity to work on something that involved a lot of interaction with others,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s soon as the project started, I just fell in love with the construction process. I loved the interaction between so many different experts and trades, the complexity of it and, most of all, the ability to actually work within the construction process.鈥�

DelaCruz decided then that he would start his own construction company and, as a recent graduate of Portland State University, call聽it Viking Engineering + Construction.聽

Today, VEC is a full-service construction manager/general contractor specializing in state and federal, health care, high tech and commercial projects. Its work includes tenant improvements; security and energy upgrades; roofing replacements; mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades; and civil construction.聽

Lindsay Verdugo, community affairs specialist for Mortenson Construction, said that as Mortenson鈥檚 prot茅g茅 graduate from the Port of Portland Mentor-Prot茅g茅 Program, VEC seeks to engage other certified firms and constantly seeks resources to improve itself.

鈥淥n one of Viking鈥檚 projects with the Port of Portland, they teamed with another certified firm, Sterling Pacific. The majority of Sterling Pacific鈥檚 field staff did not hold CPR/AED certificates, so Viking hosted a training and invited Sterling Pacific to participate,鈥� Verdugo said. 鈥淭his participation also demonstrated that Viking honored their safety plan by having every onsite individual certified in first aid/AED/CPR. Viking continues to create a positive reputation for MWESB firms.鈥�

Each year, VEC participates in Kaiser Permanente鈥檚 MLK Volunteer Day. It also funds two scholarships for PSU 鈥� one for the College of Business and the other for the College of Engineering 鈥� that are available to immigrant and first-generation college students.