| Oilman Louisiana

Miroslav Mitrovic is a prolific, award-winning mechanical designer and owner of two design consulting companies, the Lafayette-based Miro Design Consulting, LLC and the Ontario-based Bluming, Inc.

Mitrovic, originally from Yugoslavia, runs MDC from his Lafayette home office, where he proudly displays evidence of his two passions: his life's work and his motorcycles. His office includes a total of five computer screens with three workstations, in addition to a display of framed images of some of his mechanical design work.

Mitrovic said he had become interested in mechanical objects as a young boy by taking apart objects and reassembling them. "I just wanted to know exactly how something worked," he said. "For my entire life, I always showed a keen interest in quantum mechanics." Mitrovic said his proclivity towards designing machinery directly links to his long-time fascination with motorcycles. According to Mitrovic, as a young man, it was too expensive in Yugoslavia for many people to own cars so they used motorcycles for transportation. However, Mitrovic said he always owned a motorcycle.

"Many people, when getting older, forget about motorcycles," said Mitrovic. "It hasn't happened to me yet." Mitrovic has even raced in Daytona, Birmingham and California. Mitrovic moved from Bosnia to Canada, where he worked for 14 years performing design work for several companies, as well as owning his own. When offered a career opportunity at Begneaud Manufacturing, Inc., he moved his family from Toronto to Lafayette and began to work as a senior mechanical engineer, a position he held until 2008. He designed such products as the Data Trek Land Unit, a mobile computer used for drilling control and the screen machine land rig and offshore version of shaker screen cleaning.

As a senior mechanical designer, Mitrovic concentrated on mechanical systems for energy conservation and heat recovery projects. He also cultivated 3-D models for energy conservation, emission reduction and alternative energy projects. He then started MCD and modeled a prototype of the first mobile sugar cane processing machine in 3-D and completely redesigned it.

Mitrovic is a seasoned mechanical engineer and is recognized by many professionals as one of the best. It's easy to see why. He has decades of practical experience and working relationships with some of the most prodigious companies in the world. Mitrovic has won many design awards and has had his products featured in articles for magazines across America and Canada, as well as in ads for Solid Edge. He also was the first person in Canada to receive the Solid Edge Professional Certificate.

"I think he is extraordinarily talented in the field of mechanical design," said Joseph Sarkies, president of Sarco Enterprises, LLC, a company for which Mitrovic has been working on a product. "South Louisiana is very lucky to have him." In the mix of his world-wide career moves, Mitrovic has designed products for the New York Stock Exchange, New Jersey subway system, Sick Kids' Hospital & Wayne Gretzky Foundation, Burger King, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.