Robert C. Andrews, Jr.
Founder
President and CEO


A consummate entrepreneur, Bob Andrews is the Founder, President and CEO of the Bob Andrews Group, LLC (BAG).  Mr. Andrews founded BAG in February 2005 to serve as a holding company for his myriad business interests and real estate holdings.  Additionally, BAG provides high-level corporate support to Mr. Andrews’ business interests, on a cost-shared basis, in the areas of strategy, finance, human resource management, risk management, corporate communications, and marketing. Most importantly, Mr. Andrews uses BAG to serve as an incubator for his myriad entrepreneurial ventures, allowing them to be tested for viability before being spun off as separate companies. The Bob Andrews Group, LLC is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Mr. Andrews (along with fellow University of Maryland graduates John R. Cochrane and Bill Cooper) founded Protection Development, Incorporated, (PDI) in 1985 and currently serves as its President and CEO. In 2009, he expanded his commitment to the rail / transit consulting industry by launching a new, dedicated PDI division aimed specifically at that market. The new division is called PDI Rail Solutions.

Mr. Andrews is a Texas Registered Professional Engineer (fire protection branch specialty), a professional member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (USA), and a member of the Institution of Fire Engineers (UK). He has been practicing fire protection engineering for thirty-years and has specialized in smoke and flammability testing and the safe design of rail vehicles for the past ten years.

Mr. Andrews performed the Fire Safety Analysis for the Music City Star (Nashville, Tennessee commuter service) in 2006 and most recently served as project manager providing comprehensive FRA compliance services to the Rio Grand Scenic ski train in Denver, Colorado on behalf of Iowa Pacific Holdings, LLC.

Active in the rail industry, Mr. Andrews is a 2008 graduate of the Railway Management Program at Michigan State University. He is a member of the National Fire Protection Association’s Rail Transportation Systems Section and an associate member of the American Association of Railroad Superintendents. In addition to his duties with PDI, Mr. Andrews is Managing Partner of The Catalpa Falls Group, LLC (CFG), a vintage railroad car acquisition, restoration, and leasing company.

Highly unusual amongst fire protection engineers, Mr. Andrews has been an active member of the fire service for over 35 years, having joined his local volunteer fire company in suburban Philadelphia on his sixteenth birthday. His fire service experience includes serving with the East Whiteland Volunteer Fire Association (PA), the College Park Volunteer Fire Department (MD), the Phoenix Fire Department (AZ), Marathon Oil Company (OH), Celanese Chemical Company (TX), the Refinery Terminal Fire Company (TX) and Industrial Emergency Services. He was one of the first Emergency Medical Technicians in the United States having received his Pennsylvania and National Registry EMT licenses in 1975. In addition to his duties with PDI, Mr. Andrews currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Industrial Emergency Services, LLC (IES). He also holds the title of Fire Chief Emeritus. For ten years, prior to becoming CEO, he held the position of President & Fire Chief, a title he had since founding the company in 1999. He remains the majority owner of IES. In addition to his fire service credentials, Mr. Andrews has been a Licensed Texas Peace Officer for twenty years and currently holds Master Peace Officer and Instructor certifications. He is an internationally recognized police dog trainer.

Mr. Andrews earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland in 1980 and a Master of Science Degree in Executive Fire Service Leadership from Grand Canyon University in 2002. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program and received the 1990 Outstanding Research Award for his paper that discussed the feasibility of applying the Incident Command System to incidents in the refining and petrochemical industry. He was one of the first industrial fire chiefs to earn the prestigious Chief Fire Officer Designation in 2003, and is an internationally recognized author and speaker having delivered emergency response, industrial firefighting and life safety presentations in France, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.