Meet Matt Underwood, director of construction operations at Kingery Construction (kccobuilders.com).
Tell us a little about your business. – In 1924, William and Everett Kingery established Kingery Construction Company with limited resources. The company remained in the Kingery family for four generations until 2013 when Rod Berens and Rick Wintermute, both long-term employees, became the leaders and took the company into the future. Our construction process goes “Beyond the Building.” We strive to build legacies for every owner through the construction process, which is far more than building a structure; it’s about building relationships with our clients and partners. We create a quality product that stands the test of time and speaks to a community of owners and employees that spend a large portion of their day in the building. During the last 97 years, Kingery Construction Co. has had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of building projects, including education, medical and research, faith-based, commercial, governmental, industrial, and financial. We are honored to have been involved in building several iconic landmarks in Lincoln and the surrounding areas. We have the expertise to manage any type of vertical construction project, even for projects we have not specifically done before. We pride ourselves on being able to adapt to unique project needs. One example of this was our selection to be construction manager for the UNL Breslow Ice Hockey Arena. Very few firms have constructed this type of venue. We are familiar with, and have successfully completed, projects of design/bid/build, design/build, construction manager at risk, and construction manager as agent methods.
What has been your most important achievement professionally? – The many years spent continuously at Aspen Valley Hospital building their new facilities and remodeling everything else (in some cases twice). It became more special when two of my children were born in the birthing center I built there. I spent 17 years working on that hospital before returning to Nebraska.
Tell us a little about your family. – I’m a Nebraska native, my wife a Texan. I’m happy I was able to convince her to come to the better of the two states. I have four kids from ages 21 to 8 and all of us are in Lincoln.
What do you see as one of the biggest turning points in your life? – Certainly the biggest turning points was the decision to come back home to Nebraska in 2020 after 17 years in Colorado.
What is your favorite thing to do on a day off? – If it’s a September day, then elk hunting in the Rockies. Any other day, spending time with my family doing whatever it is they want to do.
What is the most unique or interesting thing about you that most people probably don’t know? – Before construction, I was in meteorology and was a storm chaser for six years.
Who inspires you? – The Good Lord above.
What is your favorite quote or the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? – My mom would always say, “Just make sure you enjoy what you do for a living!”
If you could choose only one descriptive word to be remembered as, what would it be? – Present.
If you could have a super power, what would it be? – Flying…so I could carry elk out of the mountains without killing myself.
If you could choose any other profession to be successful in, what would it be? – Financial analyst and advisor.
If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so? – (402) 465-4400; kccobuilders.com.