Over 40 years ago, Robert Peccia decided to take a risk and open an engineering firm. The Montana State University civil engineering graduate and a handful of employees wedged themselves into a tiny downtown Helena office and created RPA. The fledgling firm worked on small transportation, planning, and other miscellaneous projects. The company vehicle fleet consisted of Bob’s personal Honda and a beat up Datsun hatchback, fondly referred to as the “dustpan”. The drafting was done by hand and “state-of-the-art” was considered the IBM programmable typewriter with a changeable font head.