UNDERGROUND CONTRACTORS - Key Persons
Before joining our team, Austyn was an experienced splicer and diesel mechanic. He found a home at UCI in the winter of 2022, joining the team alongside his father and a few of his cousins. During his time on the team, Austyn has grown from Splicing Tech to Splicing Supervisor. With this ambition and work ethic, he is eager to participate in the rapid growth of our company. In his free time, Austyn is an avid outdoorsmen.
Job Titles:
- Bill Brown Shop Supervisor
Bill grew up in Clio, Michigan where he was, "always repairing something". After serving time in the Army, Bill got back to his knack for fixing things, working various jobs maintaining units such as construction equipment and underground and asphalt equipment. Since joining UCI in 2014, Bill has loved the people he's gotten to know and prays to continue to train and empower them to create a more productive shop. In his free time, Bill preaches at his local church and loves to spend time with his family.
Originally from Rochester, Indiana, Bob has been with the UCI team since 2012. He began in Indianapolis and moved to the Wixom office in early 2017. Bob started working in the vehicle maintenance industry at just 16 years old. He joined the United States Air Force in 2001 as a Vehicle and Vehicular Equipment Maintainer and served two tours in Iraq and one in Korea before returning to civilian life in mid-2012. Since then, he has been an important member of the team at UCI. When not working, he enjoys shooting sports, drag racing, and family time.
Brian Mecum is originally from The Metro Detroit area and has been in the industry at UCI since 1980. Since then, Brian has developed a specialty in underground construction. His favorite aspect of being on the UCI team is being a part of the company's growth and great reputation. When he isn't working, he enjoys spending time with his family.
CJ learned about his passion for safety over 30 years ago while working in the construction, manufacturing, and electrical industries. His experience gave him a keen eye for hazard prevention, preventative measures, safety tailgates and training. Since joining UCI in 2022, CJ utilizes his expertise and positive attitude to reinforce the fact that safety is always the #1 priority on a job site. When CJ is not at work, he enjoys hanging out with his wife, children, and dogs.
Job Titles:
- David Darin Construction Manager
David has been with the UCI team since 1984. He ran the first directional bore crew when it was introduced to the industry and has been a supervisor since 1995. David strives to provide the best customer service for all of UCI's customers, large and small. David is proud to work for a goal-oriented family business. Outside of work, he likes to spend time with his two children and five grandsons.
Davin has many years of fiber splicing experience since starting in the industry in 1998. His experience has consisted of; inside plant data cabling, network installation, central office structural engineering, and the testing and turn up of equipment. Davin has played major roles in several large data center builds and has worked in hundreds of central offices across the United States. Since joining UCI in 2017, Davin's work has consisted mostly of outside plant fiber optic installation, fiber splicing and routing, network engineering and troubleshooting, and emergency restoration. Davin believes that "Being part of a great team of professional colleagues that you can work through issues, solve problems, exchange ideas, and learn from," is the best part of working with UCI. Davin is originally from the Lansing area and spends his free time enjoying the outdoors with his family.
Dawn has an impressive resume of management experience in various industries spanning banking, finance and accounting since her career began in 1998. She joined UCI in 2014 and currently oversees the office operations including Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and Finance. Dawn believes that UCI's dedicated long-term employees speak volumes about the great opportunities UCI has to offer its employees. In her downtime, Dawn enjoys reading and spending time with her family.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Del Mecum Jr. President
- Del Mecum Sr. Founder
- President of UCI
Del Mecum Sr. was in the construction business for most of his adult life, starting out as a Journeyman Pipeline Welder. In 1973, he founded Underground Contractors Inc. Over the past 50 years, with the help of his three sons and long-term, hard-working, and well-trained employees, he has expanded UCI into what it is today.
Del Mecum Jr. is the President of UCI. Del has worked in the industry at UCI since 1979 and has since completed a countless number of jobs to clients' satisfaction. His specialty is outside plant construction for utilities. His favorite part of being on the UCI team is the pride of the employees. When Del isn't working, he prefers to spend his free time boating.
Dominic Nigro got his start in the industry back in 1999. With over 2 decades of experience, Dominic knows just about everything underground construction related. Before joining UCI in 2020 and quickly becoming a supervisor in 2021, Dominic was a directional boring foreman for 10 years. When he's not working, Dominic enjoys spending time with his daughter and friends at the drag strip and racing it himself!
Joe has worked in the industry since 1996 and joined our team at UCI in 1999. He began as a foreman until transitioning to a supervisor position in 2010. His specialty is in aerial construction with over 4,000 jobs completed as a supervisor and countless more as a foreman. His favorite part of his job has been traveling across all parts of Michigan over the years. When he isn't working on the job site, he enjoys spending time with his family.
John Saylor began working in the industry in 1978. Originally from White Lake, John has completed thousands of underground construction jobs and has developed a specialty in underground utilities. John joined UCI in 1978 and currently runs our Northern Michigan operations. John's favorite aspect of being on the UCI team are his exceptional team members. When he isn't working, John enjoys spending his time golfing, fishing and traveling.
Joshua has been serving the telecommunication industry since 2008. Over the years, he has gained a wealth of project management and organization skills throughout the many roles and projects he has held. Joshua has a great understanding and passion for planning, design, and process. These skills are exactly what he brings to UCI as our Engineering Manager. He is most excited to, "…be part of a company that is growing and that will support my vision of this department". In his free time, Joshua is busy with 5 children and enjoys being by the water up north.
Kenneth has been a Human Resource professional since 2005, previously serving two Tier-1 Automotive manufacturers before joining UCI. With a lifelong passion for working with people, Kenneth brings positivity to the workplace. In his free time, he and his wife can be found at their sons football games, wrestling tournaments, and band concerts.
Kevin Mecum, originally from Troy, has been working with UCI since 1989. Since then, he has completed thousands of underground construction jobs. He specializes in directional boring of freeways and building underground fiber optic networks through city environments. His favorite aspect of being on the UCI team is the family atmosphere. He feels that because many of the workers in the family-owned company are related, the entire operation has a family feel. When he isn't at work, Kevin prefers to spend his free time with his wife and kids.
Originally from Farmington Hills, Matthew has worked in the underground and aerial industry since 2013. Since joining UCI in 2017, Matthew's role is to maintain inventory and material order management for current and future jobs, as well as the calculation of materials needed for new jobs and distribution of them in a timely manner. Matthew's extracurricular interests include building and riding motorcycles, camping and outdoor activities.
Micheal has gained a wealth of experience in the construction industry since his start in 1995. Before joining UCI in 2012, he was a carpenter for 20 years. Since joining UCI, his skills have grown from foreman to supervisor. In his current position, Micheal makes sure the crews finish jobs efficiently and on time and is an expert in getting emergency jobs done. Out of work, he enjoys hunting, fishing, and spending time with his family.
Mike has been working in the industry since 2000. He started with UCI as a concrete foreman, and eventually moved up to a bore foreman before taking the supervisor position. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his kids and grandkids.
Before joining our team in 2019, Robin had worked with AT&T since 1983 where she gained a wealth of knowledge in aerial and underground cables and fiber splicing. UCI sought out Robin's expertise and has been overjoyed with her success as our Quality Control Manager. Robin believes that UCI is only getting bigger and better and is eager to be along for the ride with us! Speaking of a ride, in her free time, Robin enjoys traveling on her motorcycle.
Job Titles:
- Construction Supervisor
- Employee of UCI
Roy has been a loyal employee of UCI since 1995. Roy has played many crucial roles on our team including Laborer, Foremen, and Truck Driver. We are ecstatic to have him as a Construction Supervisor, where he plans to bring innovative ideas to the job site. Roy is an excellent Supervisor because he is a team player, always encouraging his crew to go above and beyond expectations. In his free time, Roy enjoys riding his Harley, 4-wheeling, fishing, and spending time with his family.
Job Titles:
- Steve Dault Splicing Manager
Steve joined UCI in 2021 after many years with AT&T where he managed Installation and Repair in both fiber and copper networks. He brings experience in troubleshooting and network building. He is focused on delivering a quality job each and every time. In his spare time, he coaches archery for Howell Schools.
Tim Nida has worked in the telecom industry since 2014 where he has gained a wealth of experience and knowledge in splicing. With glowing recommendations from friends, Tim joined UCI in 2023. He has since been working out of our Lansing office, where he is determined to help our team grow and profit. In his free time, Tim enjoys golfing, video games, and spending time with his wife and Siberian Huskey, Mia.
Job Titles:
- Vince Creighton Aerial Supervisor
Vince's utility experience started in the gas & power industry before moving to underground and aerial construction in 2022. Vince grew quickly within UCI, joining our team in 2020 as a truck driver and working his way to Supervisor after just 1 and a half years as a foreman. In fact, what he appreciates the most about UCI is this ability to grow. "If you come to work every day and do your job to the best of your ability, the sky's the limit". Vince's goal is to expand UCI's aerial division as much as possible. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his two pitbulls and his girlfriend, renovating their new home in Dearborn Heights.