Our Founder

BENJAMIN B. TORCHINSKY

Ben Torchinsky was born in Calgary, Alberta in 1926. In 1947 he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Alberta and two years later, a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering. From 1947–1949, he gained early experience with the University of Alberta as a Sessional Instructor in Civil Engineering.

In 1949, he joined the faculty of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. For the next eight years, he held the position of Assistant Professor followed by Associate Professor in the Civil Engineering Department of the College of Engineering. During this time while conducting some research studies for the Saskatchewan Research Council on cracking and deterioration of buildings, he realized that shallow type foundation systems i.e. conventional spread footings were not performing satisfactorily in areas with potentially active type soils such as were encountered in the City of Regina.

For foundations to perform satisfactorily in these areas, it was necessary to use a deep foundation system that extended below the “active” zone (20 feet) of seasonal moisture variation. He concluded that a bored type concrete pile was the most economical method of constructing a deep foundation system that would extend below the active zone. He then began recommending use of bored piles for building projects in areas with potentially active clay soils.

In 1952 he founded B.B. Torchinsky & Associates Ltd., which specialized in consulting engineering, and provided professional services in soil mechanics and foundation engineering. Much of his foundation engineering work was carried out under the auspices of this company. Two years later he started the piling company, Western Foundation Borings Limited which subsequently became Western Caissons Limited to construct bored type pile foundation systems.

In 1957, due to the increasing tempo of his outside interests, he resigned from the University faculty in order to devote his full energy to active management of the business enterprises. As president, he directed the rapid growth of the firm until it provided services across Canada and the United States as well as overseas. In 1963 Torchinsky became Chairman of the Board and President of AGRA Vegetable Oil Products Limited, which became listed in 1968 on the Toronto Stock Exchange as AGRA Industries Limited (subsequently shortened to AGRA Inc.). By 1970 the engineering and construction companies were consolidated into publicly traded AGRA Inc. and in 2000 AGRA merged with U.K. based AMEC plc. Torchinsky retired from AGRA in 2000.

There were many entrepreneurial “firsts” in Torchinsky’s career. In the early 1950’s he pioneered the installation of deep piles and caissons in Western Canada to support buildings, bridges and other heavy structures; by the mid-1950’s he established the first cable television system in Western Canada (Cablenet); in 1960 he built the first canola oil crushing and refining plant in Canada (AGRA Vegetable Oil Products Limited); in the late 1970’s he established the first all-news radio network across Canada (CKO); he started recycling of glass, plastics and aluminum beverage containers in Alberta in the 1980’s (Contain-Away) years before it became an environmental imperative, and at the turn of the century he spearheaded construction of the first electronic toll highway in Canada (Highway 407 in Ontario).

In June 2003 he received an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from the University of Alberta, his alma mater. His accomplishments have also earned him many awards including the 1997 Sir John Kennedy Medal, the most distinguished award from the Engineering Institute of Canada, and the 2001 Beaubien Award, the highest recognition presented by the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada.