Vice President, Heber Barlow
At UMC, Inc., we’ve grown over nearly fifty years to the business we are today. What started as a family business has grown to over 300 employees, led by a great executive team. Today we’d like to introduce you to Heber, our vice president. He’s the leader of our organization and sets an example of the company we are.
At 16, Heber graduated high school early so he could begin trade school. He began work as an apprentice for his father, Ianthius Barlow, and his uncle Nephi, the company’s founders. Under their tutelage, Heber worked his way up to journeyman in the next few years. As a journeyman, he commuted to Idaho, working on projects there and then returning on Fridays to work in the main office as an estimator. After a year of back and forth, Heber returned to the main office and began working as the general manager.
In 2008, the recession struck. Through hard work, the company made it through the recession, and after the hard times passed, the company began to grow fast. UMC, Inc. became known for larger commercial work in multi-family units and hotels. It was challenging to move to large-scale projects. Heber fondly recalls one of the first, more complex projects UMC took on. It consisted of 76 apartment units on a post-tension slab with underground parking, and he wondered if the team could do it. Today, a job the same size is almost too small.
In the past few years, UMC, Inc. has grown fast, and Heber admits that the biggest challenge has been to find the right people to help support that growth. The company has a long history of fostering employee growth through apprenticeship and promoting from within. Heber’s leadership philosophy is to encourage personal growth and development. He encourages his employees to put self-growth first. Heber encourages this through a corporate audible account full of audiobooks on self-development and leadership. He also offers print copies if employees prefer to read them. Before COVID-19 struck, the team offered monthly leadership lessons for superintendents and management.
As the leader of UMC, Inc., Heber has worked to make sure that the company grows together. His biggest hope for the future is that the company continues to expand responsibly without sacrificing quality. As commercial HVAC and plumbing specialists, UMC, Inc. works with many different trades and general contractors. Coordinating on large-scale projects is difficult, but Heber knows that UMC, Inc. has the team and the experience to deliver quality work. As the company goes forward, Heber is nothing but grateful for the team and their shared success. He believes that the best is yet to come.
