Matt Bell, 52, is the kind of business owner and leader whose actions can speak louder than words. A former infantryman in the U.S. Army, Bell launched U.S. Vet General Contracting LLC in 2010 as a way to pursue a career in construction and at the same time help his fellow veterans.
Bell’s military connections run deep. Two grandfathers served during World War II and his dad and uncle were in the Marine Corps in Korea. Of his two older siblings, one brother retired from the U.S. Air Force while the other served in the U.S. Navy. Bell’s half-sister also served in the U.S. Army.
Through the years, Bell, a service-disabled veteran living in Poynette, has led a McFarland company whose revenues have grown in leaps and bounds. We spoke with him recently about his company and an unsatiable drive to help others.
Thanks for your service, Matt. Tell us about your military career.
I served 20 years in the U.S. Army — six years on active duty — and then 14 years in the National Guard. I was in Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989, and then did two tours for Operation Iraqi Freedom. I was a combat soldier on the front lines and think I could have lasted a lot longer, but infantry is physically challenging. After a while, I’ll just say I couldn’t hang with the 18-year-olds anymore. I retired in 2009.
And you launched U.S Vet General Contracting a year later?
I did. While in the National Guard, my civilian jobs were in construction. I had a knack for building things — my brother always said I had craftsman hands. I thought I wanted to be an architect and graduated from Madison College in architectural technology, but I really just wanted to build things. After working for several companies around the area, I went out on my own and started doing small projects for the VA [Veteran’s Administration], but the company just kept growing. Our first-year revenue was around $250,000. This year, we’re hoping to do $17 million.
Give us your company’s elevator pitch.
U.S. Vet General Contracting is a full-service, service-disabled veteran owned (SDVO) company providing general construction, subcontracting, and construction management services for federal government, state government, and commercial projects. We are a for-profit company and a union shop. We are not a government contractor. We bid for commercial projects alongside everyone else, which can be challenging because in order to win a contract, you need to have the lowest bid.
We’d rather negotiate more projects on our own and work directly with the client rather than bidding things out. I’d like to see us get to a 50–50 basket, with 50% of projects being government work and 50% private work. Right now, we’re probably at a 90–10 split [government versus private work].
Do you hire veterans exclusively?
That was my goal when I first started, but I quickly learned that was difficult to do. We need people, and vets don’t always apply. We prefer to hire vets and we have a diverse staff and a high percentage of veterans working for us.
My passion will always be to help veterans and their causes. For example, we’re committed to supporting charities such as Badger Honor Flight, Take a Vet Fishing, the Center for Veterans Issues, Oscar Mike, and others. We try to donate as well as participate and volunteer. I’m extremely proud that we received the Gold Medallion Award from the U.S. Dept. of Labor in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023 for hiring and retaining veterans.
What kind of building projects does U.S. Vet General Contracting work on?
We’ve got experience in pretty much everything commercial, but right now the bulk of our work is in hospitals, particularly VA hospitals. We’ve worked with all three veteran hospitals around the state and built an addition for St. Vincent de Paul in Beaver Dam, to name a few.
How would you describe your leadership style?
We have fun here. My employees are our biggest asset. I’d do anything for them, and I believe they’d do anything for me. I’ve found that employees have very good suggestions, and as a leader and owner, I believe it’s wise to consider what they’re seeing from their point of view.
What is your toughest challenge right now?
Finding people in the field, with the skilled trades being so depleted.
Are you originally from Wisconsin?
Actually, I was born in upstate New York and my family moved here when I was five, so I consider Wisconsin my home. After a divorce, my mom remarried a U.S. Navy veteran, a cryptologist in fact, who traveled a lot. We lived in Italy for four years before moving to Jacksonville, Florida. When he got orders to move to Reykjavik, Iceland, which would have been an interesting place live, I found out the high school only had 12 kids or so in its graduating class, so I decided to move back to Sun Prairie to live with my dad.
I joined the Army right after graduating from Sun Prairie High School. I was never a great student, so the Army gave me the discipline I needed in my life. After serving overseas, I went to college on the G.I Bill and ended up making the dean’s list.
What’s your plan for continued success?
We have a lot of growth ahead of us, and yet I really enjoy being small and hope that never changes. The people who work for me are honest and would do anything for the company and for our clients. We’re a family. I know the names of my apprentices and their wives and kids. My employees know they can talk to me and that they’re not just a number, unlike some companies I worked for in the past. I’m just not a corporate kind of guy.
We earn our client’s respect every day. There are great general contractors out there, but like any industry, there are some that people don’t trust. I want to bring goodness back to general contracting. Our mission statement includes values learned in the military — loyalty, duty, respect, selflessness, service, honor, integrity, and personal courage, so making money is not the most important thing to me. Doing the right thing is.
