APRIL SPOTLIGHT
Brandon Smith

Brandon is an integral member of our fab shop and piping division team. As field supervisor, he’s actively involved in planning our piping work and making sure teams have the resources they need to execute projects effectively.

Brandon’s career in construction was inspired by a love of welding developed in high school and through after-school experience working as a machinist. He had the opportunity to work on interesting projects in his high school’s welding program, such as a large equipment trailer, and an opportunity outside of school to help build an aluminum boat. “Welding is an art; it takes patience and practice to master. You can build some really cool stuff by joining metal together.”

After high school, his passion for welding led him into pipefitting and an apprenticeship program with Local 290. His dedication and work ethic of practicing his craft on weekends and before class every day paid off, earning him three certifications in his first six months in the program.

He worked for several years in the field as a welder before turning his attention to team management, applying his experiences to inspire his approach to leadership. “For me, it’s about treating people right, creating an environment where people want to come to work and where we can also have fun—if we’re not having fun, what are we doing here?”

Brandon joined JR Merit about a year ago, becoming a key player in expanding our piping division and fab shop capabilities. “I was drawn in by the opportunity to be part of a team and have input into building something great. It’s work but it’s fun.” He finds it very rewarding to do job walks and meet clients, learning about their needs, coming up with solutions, planning the work, and seeing field teams successfully execute.

As a leader, Brandon focuses on planning work and making sure teams have the tools, equipment, and information they need to work effectively, thinking ahead to remove the frustrations and challenges he sometimes experienced coming up the ranks in the field. He enjoys developing the team members he supervises, identifying talent, helping people progress to the next level, and seeing them succeed. He also acknowledges that leadership isn’t without the often-challenging work of holding people accountable. “Some conversations can be tough, particularly when you have built relationships with people. I try to be fair and lead by example.”

Asked about a memorable project experience, Brandon recalled the first project he led, a 10-story high-rise building for the Multnomah County Health Department in downtown Portland. The project included several sustainability-oriented mechanical systems, such as high-efficiency boilers, variable refrigerant flow systems, and chilled beams. “This was a large project; I was thrown into the middle of the ocean to sink or swim, and it went very well. It was a great project, and everyone wanted to be there. We had fun.”

Another interesting project Brandon led was a diamond factory in Gresham, where carbon-rich gas is exposed to extreme pressure to mimic the natural conditions that create diamonds. It takes thousands of years to make a natural diamond, whereas a lab facility such as this can create one in a month. Brandon and his team installed the gas and high-purity piping that is critical to the lab’s operations.

In his current role, Brandon is looking forward to being part of the ongoing growth of JR Merit’s piping division and the company overall.

Outside of work, Brandon’s main focus is spending time with family, which includes his wife and six children. He also enjoys taking advantage of the Pacific Northwest’s natural bounty through all seasons with snowmobiles, quads, and dirt bikes, as well as mountain trail running. Brandon has also continued his passion for welding and machining. He’s currently building a new house and plans to include machining equipment in a portion of his home shop.  

Brandon’s dedication to everything he undertakes is just one of many reasons we’re proud to have him in the JR Merit Family. And we may see if he can dust off his equipment trailer welding skills. A custom-made trailer for our fleet would be pretty cool.