The roots at The BHS Incorporated run deep. Founded in 1903 as Kansas City, Kansas’ Boese-Hilburn Electric Company, the original organization sought a new way to approach electrical estimating projects. They were early adopters of a number of innovations until–frustrated by complicated software that did not reflect how electrical estimators were used to estimating–they decided to do it themselves.
It was 1989. Things were rapidly changing in digital processing. As a hardware guru, Rick had skills in building hardware and a passion for improving performance. But, after Rick joined Boese-Hilburn, he worked in his spare time alongside the company’s head programmer to troubleshoot the program’s code.
Rick completed a degree in Computer Information Science at Southwest Baptist University in 2008, graduating with honors and was recognized with SBU's Life Beautiful Award.
On occasion, Rick tested out new ideas on the boss. One of the first times he did this, the boss walked by Rick’s door with a prospective client–and there was the BHSestimator®, running in color for the first time! Rick took over as Head Programmer in the mid-90’s when the BHSestimator® system was just moving out of DOS into the original Windows world. Now the program is able to run on multiple platforms to meet the changing needs of all BHSestimator® users.
In 2008, Rick became the owner of The BHS, Inc. now used extensively across the United States and in Australia. The BHSestimator® has grown through the years, not by advertising, but by word-of-mouth testimonies of satisfied users.
Despite the company’s steady growth, Rick remains in contact with BHSestimator® clients and assists in training them directly. Known since inception for its innovative, personalized service, BHS still holds that level of customer service at the core of its business model. This is precisely why BHS company contacts will always include a way to reach the president, himself.
