Scott Schmutz, 2023, UMC, Inc.
One of the best things about working for UMC, Inc. is all the new opportunities available to employees who want to grow their careers in exciting and challenging ways. It’s this quality that Scott Schmutz has seen firsthand during his time at UMC, Inc.
After a twelve-year military career, Scott moved back from Europe to his home of Salt Lake City, Utah. But he struggled to find meaningful work that valued his military experience. So instead, he began an MBA program, and once that was completed, he was led by a recruiter to UMC, Inc. and officially joined the company in 2016.
Scott’s worn many different hats during his time here at UMC. He initially started as the head of safety and quality control in Utah/Colorado. It was a taxing job with monthly travel to different job sites, which increased once UMC expanded to Idaho. By 2019, UMC, Inc. was growing quickly, so Scott’s skills were put to the test. He helped set up teams and processes to help manage the growth. His skills were so helpful that he eventually transitioned to the head of project management in Idaho, overseeing the fast development there. Again, Scott helped to get things in place to manage the growth so that new project managers could come in to lead the Idaho team. With new project managers in these fast-growing regions, using the process and systems Scott helped build, he transitioned to purchasing in 2021.
Scott’s role at UMC, Inc. has changed a lot over the years, but it fits his unique skill set. His time in the military taught Scott critical leadership skills and flexibility, so he felt comfortable transitioning from one area to another. Over time, Scott became a leader that could be trusted to bring a specific department up to a higher standard of 80-85% efficiency, so it was ready for an expert to come in and refine the processes to be their most efficient. It’s a transformation Scott helped foster in both the safety and quality department and at the start of UMC’s growth into Idaho.
Like a missing puzzle piece, Scott’s been a trusted leader that can be counted on to help develop the systems and processes a department needs to succeed. When he started his current role in purchasing, the pandemic had just begun, bringing myriad supply chain issues. Scott led his team through this difficult period. During that challenging time, Scott helped his team weather the difficulties and get the supplies needed. Now that the situation has stabilized, Scott’s working hard to develop further improvement by designing more efficient purchasing systems and relationships with suppliers.
As you can see, Scott’s career at UMC, Inc. has been anything but typical, but he was able to use his military training and expertise to help our company grow. Along the way, he was even able to shed some of the trappings of military life for the more relaxed atmosphere at UMC, Inc. One of the first things he did was start growing his hair from his standard issue crew cut. Now he’s got some of the best-flowing locks in the office as our Director of Supply Chain management. There’s a little bit of jealousy among some of the more follically challenged members of the UMC team!
Our whole team loves having Scott here at UMC. As Scott says, we do like to shuffle the deck every two or three years and move him to something new. It’s because we know that he can be counted on to help each department improve. So if you have a similar skillset to Scott, and love to take on new challenges, let us know. We’re always on the lookout for team players at UMC, Inc. who are ready to try something new.
