Adrian Rios is a self-described “regular guy” who loves his job as a heavy equipment mechanic and welder for McCullough Construction, Inc. in Arcata, California. Maybe so, if “regular” means being incredibly hardworking, creative and multi-skilled in welding, carpentry and machinery.
Plus, you can hear the genuine appreciation in Rios’s voice whenever talking about his knowledgeable colleagues, his life-changing mentors and his wife, Chelsey, who occasionally doubles as his boss in her project manager role at McCullough Construction.
Add up these qualities and Rios is a shining example of all the exceptional people who build rewarding careers in the construction industry. In March, he was honored as Associated Builders and Contractors’ Craft Professional of the Year, sponsored by Tradesmen International and NCCER.
The award recognizes journeymen who spend 90% of their daily job duties using tools or equipment or supervising craft professionals performing fieldwork. Rios and his fellow finalists, Joel Newton and Shaun O’Brien, embody resourcefulness and the ability to think outside the box.
“I have worked with and trained many mechanics over the past 30 years, and I can say with confidence that once you show Adrian how to do something, you won’t have to show him twice,” says Macky McCullough, founder of McCullough Construction. “He also can troubleshoot any situation, and is intuitive and relentless when trying to solve a problem.”
FROM SCHOOL TO THE SHOP TO THE FIELD
As a California native, Rios took shop class his freshman year at Eureka Senior High School, but watching his older brother learn to weld inspired him to take a welding class his sophomore year. He loved being able to cut and fabricate steel so much that he enrolled in the class his junior and senior years as well—allowing a mentorship to develop with his welding instructor.
“He taught me so much, not just about welding, but life lessons too,” Rios recalls. “I still think about the conversations we had all the time.”
During high school, Rios also worked in a truck shop washing vehicles and eventually learning how to do minor repairs. The mechanical work sparked his interest just like welding, so upon graduation in 2008, he took a couple junior college classes and earned some certifications before enrolling in Universal Technical Institute’s automotive and industrial technology program in Sacramento, California.
“The program was six-hour days, five days a week. It was a perfect fit for me so I could be done in 18 months and get started on my career,” Rios says. “I never wanted to go through a four-year school; it just wasn’t right for me.”
What did feel right was returning home to the redwoods and oceanfront of Northern California, and landing a job as a mechanic with a trucking company in 2012. But almost two years in, the economy intervened with a slight decline in the logging industry that caused the 50-driver operation to close its doors.
Like all success stories, another door opened, thanks to McCullough. “Macky showed up and hired me. It has been the greatest opportunity of my life,” Rios says.
Rios started working on heavy equipment as the company’s sole mechanic, replacing someone who was preparing to retire.
“I’d never worked on excavators or dozers, but they all have engines and transmissions, just like trucks. I learned from my coworkers how to run the equipment so I could understand how to fix it.”
Things were going great until projects picked up during the summer and no equipment was left in the yard for Rios to work on. Once again, McCullough showed up in a big way.
“Macky approached me in the shop and said, ‘it’s time,’” says Rios of his introduction to fieldwork. McCullough took him to his first jobsite, just the two of them running a 30-ton articulating dump truck and an excavator.
“Macky is very intelligent and has helped me develop my fabrication abilities. He taught me to drive a truck and run equipment, but more than that, he’s a huge part of my family—he even married my wife and me,” Rios says. “I can never repay him for all he’s done for me. The same goes for every foreman at this company who is so knowledgeable and has helped me out in so many ways.”
The feelings are mutual. “Although Adrian is a phenomenal mechanic, his greatest asset is his character,” McCullough asserts. “He is willing to do whatever it takes, whenever and however, to get the project done. You won’t find a more kind and respectable young man around.”
VARIABILITY DEMANDS VERSATILITY
These days, Rios is responsible for providing maintenance on more than 300 pieces of equipment with the assistance of three mechanics in the shop—plus fabricating attachments and welding damaged equipment and falsework for bridges. He has earned welding certifications from the College of the Redwoods and SHN Consulting Engineers, and he has his Class A commercial driver’s license with tanker, doubles, triples and hazmat endorsements.
“My certifications allow me to be a bigger asset to the team and help the job keep progressing. One part of the day I’m welding, then I stop and fix a machine, then I throw on my carpentry bag and start pounding nails, or grab a 10-wheeler and go get some materials.”
Rios’s training also instilled great work ethics related to being on time and maintaining a calm, smiling demeanor amid the challenges that inevitably pop up onsite. “Being an open shop company allows me to do all these different things in a day. It keeps me busy, I constantly have a job, and I’m really proud of what I can do,” he says.
The only thing typical about Rios’s work is that it varies season by season, week by week and even hour by hour, which suits him just fine. When he says, “I’m so happy about what I do,” it’s easy to believe.
And it’s a message he’s eager to share with students, whether it’s showing off small equipment at elementary schools or serving as a mentor in the Humboldt County Office of Education’s Trades Academy for high school juniors and seniors.
“I talk about what McCullough has going on, how much fun the work is and how much money can be made in construction,” Rios says, noting that being a welding instructor is something he’d eventually like to add to his résumé.
For now, “regular” life—with the support system of a family-owned business and the limitless opportunities of a career in construction—is good.
Read about Craft Professional of the Year finalists Joel Newton and Shaun O’Brien.
