Matt’s Underground Stands Out with Core Pipe Fusion Business

Sign up for our newsletter https://bit.ly/equipmentworldsubscribe for more business success stories like this.

Matt Bennett, founder of Matt’s Underground in Kalkaska, Michigan, believes in the power of two things when it comes to construction: diversifying the company and doing as much as possible yourself.

Those beliefs, built on over 20 years of experience, have served the company well and made it a finalist for Equipment World’s 2025 Contractor of the Year award. In addition to its drilling and excavation departments, Matt’s Underground has built one of the largest pipe fusion businesses in the Midwest, with a reputation strong enough to gain clients around the country.

Matt’s Underground has additionally brought many secondary tasks in-house, evident in the size and output of its on-site service and fabrication shop.

20 Years of Two Brothers-in-Law
Bennett’s brother-in-law, Isaac Belongia, is the company’s project manager, taking care of scheduling, pricing, bids and most daily operations. Bennett views his role primarily as supporting Belongia and dealing with whatever is the “hottest ticket of the day.” Bennett also oversees the company’s shop and asset acquisitions.

The pair’s 20-year working relationship plays on their opposite personalities. Bennett says he thrives in high-stress environments. Belongia, on the other hand, controls the chaos of the day and contributes the organizational skills that balance out the company.

Bennet likes to run a 3-to-1 ratio on field to office employees. This means for ever three workers out generating revenue, there’s one person working in the office or shop.

“There's a lot of behind-the-scenes resources it takes to do it correctly,” he says. “Some contractors in comparison to our size have different business profiles or makeups, and they don't necessarily have as many office staff as us. But we found that this works, and this is what it takes to actually do it to the standard that we're held to.”

The second story of Matt’s Underground is devoted to staff enrichment and comfort. Employees returning from the field can shower off the day’s dirt, wash their clothes in the laundry and change in the locker room. Bennett says they regularly give seminars and training sessions in the adjoining lunchroom as part of safety and compliance.

Learning the Ropes … or Pipes
Bennett’s construction career started as a mechanic at a pipeline company. He’d gone to college for a semester then dropped out, referring to it as “the most miserable thing I’ve ever done in my life.” He didn’t want to sit and ponder; he wanted to be on a team and solve problems in a dynamic environment.

He’d planned on and begun training to be a mechanic while in high school and had worked as a teenager servicing trucks for sanitation and school bus companies. But it was through this job working on trucks and equipment at the pipeline company that he learned the skills for his eventual construction career.

“I went to work there as a mechanic and learned how to fuse pipe, run a side boom, learn how to excavate, run equipment, drive a truck,” he says. “That being said, I didn't see it coming. I didn't know that pipelines or pipe installation was going to be in my future. It was just something I knew how to do.”

That company eventually downsized, and, as one of the remaining employees, Bennett earned his stripes and built his work ethic, putting in long hours doing whatever needed to be done.

After that, what started as doing odd jobs in the area grew to a small residential construction business with Belongia, who had recently married Bennett’s wife’s younger sister.

After Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. in 2005, the pair headed south to link up with another contractor on more residential and disaster recovery jobs in Mississippi for nine months. Upon returning to Kalkaska, they worked for a few years for other companies using the experience they’d gained in excavation, including work in environmental cleanup and installing landfill liners.

Eventually, the two decided they preferred to work for themselves. So, they started over again from the cab of their pickup, and Matt’s Underground was born in 2009.

Why Control Matters
The housing market crash around the same time played a part in the decision to start over and influenced their desire to have more control over their work then and today. The impact of those difficult times and not getting paid left a lasting impression on their business plans and pushed them to diversify.

For more info visit: https://www.equipmentworld.com/contra...

Equipment World serves up weekly videos on the latest in construction equipment, work trucks and pickup trucks—everything contractors need to get their work done. Subscribe and visit us at equipmentworld.com!