Mr. Rollman began his Engineering career in 1984 with 3M's Electrical Engineering Department in St. Paul, MN. He was responsible for the design of power distribution systems, process controls installation design, lighting, and grounding systems in many 3M manufacturing and office facilities. He developed and taught technical courses on Short Circuit Fault Analysis in Industrial Power Systems and NEC Power Systems Design. In addition, he has developed engineering application programs in the areas of Construction Estimating, Industrial Process Control Wiring and Device Interrupting Analysis based on NEMA and ANSI standards.
Tim was one of Excel's founding partners when the firm began its operations in August 1990. He is a Minnesota Class "A" Master Electrician, holds a Bachelor of Science Degree Magna Cum Laude in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Technological University and has a Masters of Business Administration Degree from the University of Saint Thomas. Tim is a Registered Professional Engineer in the following states: Minnesota, Alabama, California, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.
President/Principal Project Manager
Since 1983, Mr. Niedermann has been responsible for the design of various electrical systems for commercial and industrial clients. These systems have included power distribution, lighting, and process maker installation design on projects up to $1.2 million. Gary has extensive experience in monitoring electrical contractors as a field service representative on 3M sites and has been involved with start-up and commissioning of 3M process maker lines. He is highly qualified in all aspects of electrical project design including project management, scheduling, and follow-up through construction. Gary was one of Excel's founding partners when he joined the firm in January 1991. He received his certification from the Electrical Design for Construction Program at Anoka Technical College of Minnesota in 1983.
Principal Designer
Brent is a Principal Designer for Excel Engineering. He has performed and overseen hundreds of arc flash, short circuit and coordination studies. He is experienced in electrical design for both commercial and industrial clients, including medium voltage and low voltage power distribution, lighting, and wiring for process electrical controls. Brent has completed the design and programming of medium voltage relay protection for large industrial complexes. His career began as an AutoCAD operator with Rochester (MN) Public Utilities. From there, he worked as a contract employee for 3M and has been with Excel Engineering, Inc. since 1991.
Principal Designer
Department Manager, Power Studies
Rick comes to Excel Engineering with over 20 years’ experience in electric power system planning and analysis. In his previous positions at Northern States Power/Xcel Energy (Minneapolis, MN) and the Western Area Power Administration (Golden, CO), Rick performed short and long-range planning studies for local and regional high voltage electric transmission and distribution systems.
From 1989-1994 he was responsible for the design of series and shunt compensation applied to the existing Manitoba-U.S. 500 kV and 230 kV interconnections to achieve increased power transfer capability. This $100 million project, which included specification and installation of the world’s largest Static VAR System, involved extensive studies addressing steady-state ("powerflow"), dynamic stability, and transient performance.
Rick led the technical studies culminating in the construction of an additional (160-mile) Manitoba-U.S. 230 kV interconnection, which was placed in service in 2002. He has also been responsible for transmission outlet studies for thermal, hydro, and wind-powered generation developments located in Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Wisconsin. Rick’s transmission planning experience also includes testifying in transmission line permitting and routing proceedings.
Since joining Excel Engineering in 2003 Rick has continued with planning and permitting activities for the regional utilities and RTOs, while also developing Excel Engineering’s 10-person transmission planning section.
Rick is a member of IEEE and a Registered Professional Engineer in the following states: Minnesota, Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming. He is also licensed as Master Electrician in the State of Minnesota. In addition, Rick holds FCC Amateur Radio and Commercial Operator licenses.
Chief Engineer, Transmission Studies
Mr. Cronier has been involved in electrical engineering services in transmission planning since 1997. Mike comes to Excel from nearly three years at Shaw Power Technologies (PTI) in the consulting services group. Prior to PTI, Mike interned with Xcel Energy / Northern States Power. His focus of activities is transmission analysis, planning, and economic assessments. His experience includes power system expansion studies, dynamic and steady-state analyses, fatal flaw analysis, and conducting software-training courses.
Mike is an IEEE member, a licensed Master Electrician in the state of Minnesota, and a Registered Professional Engineer in the following states: Minnesota, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University and a Master of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.
Senior Engineer, Transmission Studies
Department Manager, Transmission Studies
Patty Palm joined Excel's Administrative group in 2007 with 17 years of experience in the consumer electronics and computer industries. Prior to coming to Excel, she worked for Modern Marketing, Inc. for 10 years, where she was responsible for sales and customer support, accounting and financial information, and customer service. Patty also worked for Damark International for 6 years in various capacities including inventory control, marketing, and merchandising, and gained additional experience supporting another independent representative. Patty’s diversified work experience, excellent communication skills, and educational background in business communications have served her well in her position with Excel.
Principal Administrative Aide
Department Coordinator, Industrial Client Services
Pat joined Excel Engineering in 2008 as Senior Business Systems Analyst / Software Developer. He brings over 15 years of experience in the field of IT, including Database Development, Systems Analysis & Design, Software Development, and System Administration. Prior to joining Excel Engineering, he held positions with Split Rock Energy / Great River Energy and Minneapolis Consulting Group, where he worked on designing and developing energy trading, analysis, and asset management software for power marketing. Prior to his experience within the energy industry, Pat worked for several years at Printpack Inc., a large flexible packaging manufacturer, as a System Administrator and Software Developer at one of their manufacturing facilities. There, he not only managed the day to day IT operations of the plant, but also wrote accounting, unit scheduling, and HR related software for the facility. He also worked as a software developer at Pharmacy Data Systems Inc., where he developed drug interaction databases and communication interfaces for hospital and long-term care pharmacies. He has experience with several RDBMS and programming languages, including Oracle, SQL Server, C#, C/C++, ASP, JavaScript, VB/VBA, and the .NET framework.
Pat has a B.S. degree in Computer Science / Business Management from Troy University, and an A.A.S. degree in Computer Programming / Systems Analysis & Design from Nicolet Area Technical College.
Senior Business Systems Analyst
Department Manager, Information & Network Systems Technology
Roger Anderson started with Excel Engineering in 2009 after 37 years at Northern States Power(Xcel Energy) and Zachry Engineering. Roger worked as a civil engineer, project engineer, and project manager on numerous power plant projects, including Sherco 3, an 800 MW, $1.1 Billion project. Other projects include Rochester Public Utilities Silver Lake Emissions Reduction, French Island Air Quality Control System, Red Wing AQCS and Sherco Fly Ash Ponds 2 and 3N. Two of his projects earned the MSPE Seven Wonders of Engineering Award. Roger is a Registered Professional Engineer in Minnesota, and a Project Management Professional. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with Bachelors degrees in Aero Engineering and Civil Engineering.
Principal Project Manager
Department Coordinator, Utility Client Services
Pete has over 18 years of experience in finance and accounting. Pete worked for two architectural design firms providing management of their financial areas, as well as improving their processes. He also worked for two contractors in the capacity of Chief Operating Officer directing the financial operation of these companies. Pete possesses a skill set that encompasses leadership, financial management, management and information technology that will help guide Excel into the future. He received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from St Cloud State University in St Cloud, Minnesota.
Principal Project Manager
Corporate Controller
Krista Nielsen joined Excel Engineering in 2010 to focus on business and staff development. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY in 1999. She joined Automationtechies in Eden Prairie, MN in 2006 as a technical recruiter after spending over five years working at Praxair, Inc. in Buffalo, NY, where she held roles in validation and control system engineering. In 2005, Krista also obtained her Masters of Business Administration degree from Medaille College in Buffalo, NY.
For questions regarding Excel Engineering's capabilities, please contact Krista at krista.nielsen@exceleng.net .
Business & Employee Staff Development Specialist
Mark Mathews joined Excel in 2011 as a Senior Specialist in the Controls & Instrumentation discipline. He has 23 years of experience in providing control system solutions to 3M and a broad array of other clients. In that time, he has developed project execution skills that begin with the initial project conception, through design to project completion, commissioning, and system turnover to production. His eye toward cost effective systems coupled with his ability to break complex concepts down into easy to understand terms has earned him the respect of technical and non-technical colleagues at client facilities.
Mark’s specialty is in the area of Hazardous (Classified) Area Electrical Safety, with specific expertise in the field of Intrinsic Safety, and he sits on the ISA 12.2 Committee, the national standards body for Intrinsic Safety in the USA. Vendors and clients rely on his assistance in providing Hazardous Area electrical solutions. Mark studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, and Electrical Construction and Maintenance at Dunwoody Institute.
Senior Specialist, Controls & Instrumentation
Department Coordinator, Process & Facilities Electrical and Controls & Automation