Never Give Up: Widow Transforms Loss Into Underground Success Story

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Following her husband’s death in 2005, Dana Hood was faced with a clear choice: continue the underground utility company she and her husband had started or sell.
But for Dana, there was only one option. “This is what I know, this is what I’m good at. My purpose is to take care of my employees, and to provide them with steady work,” she says. “I don’t know any other way to do it but to keep going forward. You just don’t give up; if one thing doesn’t work, try something else.”
From the start
Dana had been involved with the company from the start, helping pull cable wires through multifamily units, and then operating a vibratory plow to install cable and phone wires. In 1990, Dana and her husband Tony decided to get into prime work, and bought more plows and trucks. “The vibratory plows would fit through most fence gates and plow in hard red clay,” Dana recalls. “At that time, every county had individual cable companies, so we became a prime contractor for multiple counties around metro Atlanta.”
Even though she eventually transitioned to office work, Dana realized that hiring the right field staff was critical. “I knew if I hired the right people in the field, it would just work, because it takes both the field and the office,” she says. “But I always had confidence and faith that it was going to work out,” she says.
Changing with the industry
With her husband’s passing, Dana took a hard look at the company’s markets. “The cable-installation industry was consolidating, and revenues were going down,” Dana says. “I knew if I did not change the direction of the company we would not survive.” These changes also prompted the renaming of the firm to Underground Systems, which was established in 2006.
Dana stays on top of what’s happening by observing construction sites, attending trade shows, and talking to other contractors. “I pay attention to what’s going on, and what other people are doing,” she says. “I’m gathering information wherever I can. It’s all a matter of networking and supporting each other in the community.”
Although she’s hesitant to disclose what she’s got her eye on in the future, Dana has her next target market firmly in mind.
Growth ahead
Now with $5 million in annual revenues, Underground Systems today serves several markets, including directional drilling, hydro excavation, private locating and underground power installation and repairs. “We’re still growing and we’re going to keep growing, especially when we relocate to our new place,” Dana says.
The new location, which Dana hopes to occupy within a year, will help position the company to expand. Underground System’s current location is hemmed in, creating a tight situation when company equipment and employee vehicles have the share the same space.
“Once we have more space we will continue to expand, adding more crews and equipment,” Dana says.
Integral to that growth is her son Michael, who serves as Underground System’s operations manager, and Keith McEntire, the company’s general manager who joined the company after retiring from Georgia Power.
“Michael went into the Marine Corps and now has found his niche with our power division, which we started about five years ago,” Dana says. “He excels at it and is where he wants to be.”
“In the power division,” Michael explains, “we install, maintain, and repair the underground residential distribution lines. As soon as it leaves the top of the pole, that’s where we take over.”
While the bulk of Underground System’s work is with Georgia Power, it also works with smaller companies such as plumbers and electricians, along with municipalities.
Adding locating
Keith has played a pivotal role in the expansion of Underground Systems’ services. “We started private locating when Keith joined the company,” Dana says. “He’s hand-picked the people who do our locating, so we got the cream of the crop. He’s a great fit, and he’s really helped us grow.”
“The fact they are doing their own locates really speeds up the process,” says Kyle Gillespie with client Gillespie Contracting. “Their guys are well trained, have all the right equipment, and are dedicated to making things safe.”
Keith’s is also the company’s safety director, bringing over many practices from Georgia Power. These include a job briefing form that details any required trenching, shoring, soil types and utility locates, traffic control plans, required PPE and crew signatures. This attention to safety is reflected in the company’s .83 experience mod rate.
“It’s now part of our culture,” Dana says. “We’ve found more success training new lineman graduates properly instead of trying to retrain more experienced lineman in the ways of underground power installation and safety.”