Company History

2024 marks our 57th year of providing professional engineering services. Thanks to all of you for your help over all these years. Our name has changed a few times over those years, but our mission remains the same - to provide accurate, professional service to our clients. Here's a little history of our journey.

  • 1960

    1960 - William R. Gianelli, Consulting Engineer

    William R. Gianelli forms a consulting engineering firm after many years of experience working for the State of California and for a private consulting firm.

  • 1962

    1962 - Gianelli & Murray

    Angus Norman Murray is added to the firm bringing with him an extensive background that included construction engineering, the position of Assistant Regional Director of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and General Manager and Chief Engineer of the State Reclamation Board.

  • 1967

    1967 - Murray, Burns & Kienlen

    After Governor Ronald Reagan appoints Bill Gianelli to Director of the State Department of Water Resources, Joseph I. Burns and Donald E. Kienlen become partners in the firm. Joe Burns left the Department of Water Resources after reaching the level of Assistant to the State Engineer to join the firm, and Don Kienlen was promoted after 3 years with the firm and many years at the State Division of Water Rights.

  • 1990

    1990 - Murray, Burns & Kienlen

    After Norm Murray passed on in 1985, Don Kienlen and Joe Burns assembled a new management team to honor the company's traditions and to take it into the future. Joseph Countryman (then Chief of Civil Design in the USACE Sacramento District) was recruited in 1988. Gilbert Cosio joined the firm in 1984 following a stint at Bechtel, and Marc Van Camp joined the company in 1984 after working for the USGS. Together they took the reins of the firm in 1990.

  • 1999

    1999 to Present - MBK Engineers

    In 1999, Murray Burns & Kienlen transitions to MBK Engineers. In keeping with the tradition of transferring the management to employees, MBK Engineers is now managed by 11 partners; Walter Bourez, Don Trieu, Darren Cordova, Nate Hershey, Lee Bergfeld, Ben Tustison, Thomas Engler, Michael Moncrief, Nicole Ortega-Jewell, Kyle Knutson, and Anne Williams. At 55 employees, we are still small by comparison to many engineering firms. The firm continues to excel in the field of water resources engineering. The company has technical expertise to support projects in the fields of flood risk planning and management, reclamation district engineering, water rights, and reservoir operations.