Sandau Engineering

Rich has been in business for himself since he was 5 years old selling Oregon Blackberries (not cell phones) on the side of the road in front of his house. Rich's business was located across the street from the three room school house where his father, Professor Dr. Richard Sandau was the principal and teacher of a small Oregon Community.

He owned a Bicycle Shop in Oxnard,California when his family moved there so his father could teach at Ventura High School. Later, his father moved the family for the last time to Fresno, California. When his father, the Old Professor, taught and retired from Fresno Community College, Rich owned and operated a landscape business. He was introduced to the electrical world by a teacher at Fresno High named Mr. Ferguson.

Mr. Ferguson was a Submariner during WWII and had been through the Navy Electrical and Electronic School. He was so influential that Rich wanted to be like him. He was the main reason why when Rich was drafted he took a deferred enlistment for the United States Air Force to go to Basic Electronic/Electrical School.Rich then went on to Airborne Early Warning Radar Repairman Electrical Technician School.

Rich, nicknamed “Airman Sandy”, went through Flight Training School to become an Air Crew Member as an Airborne Early Warning Radar Repairman in Flight. He maintained and operated six tons of Airborne Radar, Radio, IFF, Aircraft Electrical and Generation.

While operating this equipment, he flew 3600 hours of Cold War time protecting the Pacific Coast of The United States. He went on to serve in the Vietnam War where he earned the United States Air Medal while flying 600 hours of combat time providing radar surveillance, interception, identification and attacks for the South East Asia theater of operation. This gave Rich a jump start into the electrical field and exposed him to the advanced technologies he would need to later become the owner of an electrical contracting business.