SteelMaster Stories of Service: B2B President Rob Poellnitz

Tucked between the old and the new is a photograph of a young man in his mid-20s. A bandana covers part of his face as he stands beneath a clock nearing noon. The image is dim and heavy with smoke, flames in the distance, the smell of sulfur hanging in the air. Rob Poellnitz doesn’t need the photo to remember. The moment is burned into his memory — black smoke, black water, and the creeping fear that made him stand tall like a toy soldier ready for war.

Desert Storm and the USS KIDD

It was 1991, and Desert Storm was raging all around Poellnitz, a recent graduate of the Naval Academy who was serving as an officer on board the USS KIDD (DDG-993) out of Norfolk. The blackness and foul smell in the air were the result of oil fires lit by Iraqi military forces that were destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from the area.

Because the dangers were too great to send in firefighting crews, the fires burned out of control. The Iraqi military also placed land mines in areas around the oil wells, and a military cleaning of the areas was necessary before the fires could be put out. Somewhere around 6 million barrels of oil were lost each day.

Eventually, privately contracted crews extinguished the fires, but by that time, the fires had burned for months, causing widespread pollution.

“I was 26 years old at the time and had a position of very significant responsibility,” remembers Poellnitz. “When you are responsible for the lives of the people serving with you, you lose sleep over it. We didn’t know what we were heading into because it wasn’t like it is today where you can send an email to get information from the outside world. After returning from Desert Storm, I was blown away when I watched CNN — viewers knew more about the war than I did while I was on the ship.”

A Military Family Legacy

Poellnitz’s father, a 34-year Navy veteran, also served in Desert Storm as an intelligence officer under General H. Norman Schwarzkopf.

“My father was deployed six times during his career in the Navy, so I grew up being aware of the sacrifices that have to be made in order to serve the country. I was raised with the values that the U.S. military thrives on: discipline, loyalty, hard work, and trustworthiness. I bring those same attributes to my professional life as well, and I expect them from the people that I work with.”

Leadership at SteelMaster

As B2B President of SteelMaster Buildings, Poellnitz says he runs a tight ship and places great value on communication and teamwork.

“Whether it is developing and nurturing relationships within our office or with our customers, it is vital that it occurs on a continuous basis. But first and foremost, it takes hard work, and I’m proud to say that the people at SteelMaster are some of the hardest working folks that I know. We are like-minded people who put value on family and on achieving a healthy work/life balance. We are proud of our work and proud of how we treat one another and our customers.”