On Drilling In-Site, episode 29, hosts Jeremy Verdusco and Brock Yordy welcome Brian DeSpain, president and co-owner of UMA Geotechnical Construction, a ground engineering firm based in Colfax, N.C. DeSpain, president since mid-2020, has a background in construction management, geotechnical engineering and strategic planning. We brought him on to talk about growing a modern construction company, and challenges and opportunities in the construction drilling sector.

“I would say soil nails is probably the primary focus of our business,” DeSpain says. “Secondary to that would be micropiles and specialty ground Improvement, grouting projects.”

UMA, established in 2004, serves the mid-Atlantic, often performing subcontracting work on large-scale transportation projects. They mainly run Casagrande, Camacchio and Hütte equipment.

DeSpain says high growth makes for a company culture that has to roll with changes.

“We’re not the same company we were five years ago,” he says. “We won't be the same company we are today in five more years. We continue to buy new equipment to make us more productive. We continue to buy bigger equipment to make us more productive.”

This episode covers topics like:

• Leading a construction company during a pandemic
• Growing a drilling and construction company
• How drilling and construction companies can diversify revenue
• Large-scale soil nailing projects
• Being a second-generation company leader

Check out today’s episode to hear more. Watch the video here or listen to the audio version of our conversation at www.thedriller.com/insite-podcast. You can also find our show on Apple Podcasts. Search for Drilling In-Site, then hit Subscribe.

Resources
www.team-uma.com