Nick Ovard’s career in plumbing has gone through a few twists and turns. He began his career as an apprentice in 2000, working with his father-in-law, and for years, he lived the plumbing service call life. He received his journeyman certification in 2005. However, the economic crisis of 2008 derailed his plans, and he left plumbing to join the skilled maintenance team at Costco. While working for Costco, he became a valued team member and worked his way up to management while teaching plumbing courses at Mountainland Technical College in Orem, Utah. It was a busy time for him, but his teaching career allowed him to stay up to date on the latest plumbing technologies and methods. He continues teaching today, and has been at Mountainland for 18 years now!
While teaching, Nick had several students in his classes who were apprenticing or working with UMC, Inc. They encouraged him to apply, and in 2018, he left Costco to join UMC as a project superintendent. It wasn’t an easy decision for Nick. His job with Costco was stable and reliable, and his previous experience with the construction industry taught him that it could be a volatile job market field.
His fears were quickly laid to rest. UMC’s core values were one of the biggest selling points for Nick, and he was really impressed by the way the company promoted integrity, quality, and safety. Integrity is always number one for Nick, and he quickly adapted to the way UMC upholds the core values on the job site. When his first project with UMC was completed, Nick began working on the UVU student housing project in 2018. Halfway through that project, Nick was promoted to general superintendent and moved into the main office. From there, he moved into a project management position, and last November, he was again promoted to project executive for Utah.
Nick credits his success at UMC to his unconventional career path. When he joined UMC, he realized it was a similar work style to what he did with Costco’s maintenance team. Each job site was run a little leaner with just enough field staff to keep everyone productive, so more was done with less. UMC’s inventory control style was also similar, so he was able to adapt quickly and thrive while overseeing projects.
His time teaching has also been a big asset because he sees firsthand how his teaching can impact the quality of work on the job site. Nick’s goal in the classroom is always to ensure his students can pass their exams and deliver quality work on the job site. Now, overseeing many of his former students, he sees firsthand their preparation and dedication to quality from his teaching and their time with UMC.
On one of his first projects, the Pierpont Apartments, an 87-unit complex, he had a great crew and found his rhythm working with them. He was on-site daily, working with the crew as one of the field staff or walking the site so he could address any concerns that came up. It was the largest project he had ever worked on at the time, but it taught him valuable lessons. Now, he’s overseeing the Worthington Tower, a 32-story building with 300+ units in downtown Salt Lake City!
While Nick’s plumbing career has taken some twists and turns, he’s found a home here at UMC. He loves working with the crew and gives all the credit to the field staff because they do all the hard work on the job site. The values at UMC and how everyone upholds them are very important to Nick, and he credits the whole UMC team for all the success he has had in the past few years!
