Families are important to M-Mig Construction, Inc., which serves multigenerational agricultural and dairy communities in the Central Valley. Company owner Matt Migliazzo, pictured here with his wife, Ashley, and their children, hopes that his sons, Max and Evan, learn from watching their dad work just like Matt did from his father.

Large farms and dairies in the Central Valley sometimes need large buildings. M-Mig Construction, Inc. built this shop and storage area for one customer.

Just about in the same breath that Matt Migliazzo talks about building and construction, he mentions working with this or that “best friend,” life on the farm, simple pleasures and the importance of building in “cow comforts.”

Construction does, after all, happen down on the farm. While his company—M-Mig Construction, Inc. (M-Mig) of Atwater, California—has a variety of projects to its credit, he knows dairy farm work is his bread and butter…with a double slice of butter.

The 38-year-old owner and President of M-Mig oversees a 40-employee company serving the large agricultural sector of Merced County and the neighboring areas in California’s fertile Central Valley. Or, as Matt puts it, “a hundred miles in every direction.”

It’s an organic fit for him and the company. He was raised on a nearby dairy farm, and Merced County is a huge producer of all kinds of down-home goodness—everything from milk and sweet potatoes to almonds, grapes, chickens, tomatoes and corn.

The dairy industry far exceeds the others. Merced is the second largest producing county of dairy products in the entire nation with nearby Tulare County taking the top spot. That distinction not only requires the 285,000 cows on 230 farms counted there, but also the barns, the milking facilities and the other structures that dairy farmers need.

“We can build a custom dairy and then go build a custom home,” Matt says.

Going with the Flow

Life in the country can demand an ability to adapt, and M-Mig takes pride in responding for its existing and potential customers. “If you could see our job board, you’d think we’d be six different companies,” he says.

To respond to the agrarian needs in the region, he has created overlapping teams for services of steel building erection, laying concrete, dairy construction, dairy service and maintenance, residential construction and electrical work.

“We’re not afraid to do anything; we get projects that other companies walk away from,” he says. Projects over the company’s 13-year history include plenty of barns and dairies, as well as some homes, a church, a preschool renovation, an airplane hangar, a playground and even solar-collecting carports.

“Our employees go out and bust their butts every day,” he adds.

Matt has built a nine-person management team to keep things on track because he personally doesn’t want to “micromanage” such a broad-based company. His supervisors are Jessica Saavedra, Alberto Perez, Michael Barberi, Mark Migliazzo (his father), Tom Ledford, Genaro Campos, David Johnson and James Jantz.

Many on the management team—as well as others on the company payroll—get introduced as Matt’s best friend, or his dad’s best friend or a friend of a friend. His dad is a project manager who guides all dairy projects since he was in the business much of Matt’s life.

“It’s a pretty special deal to work with my Dad every day,” he says.

Working alongside Matt is office manager Jessica Saavedra, who admits the company’s culture fosters a kind of kinship to the company and fellow employees.

“What I like about M-Mig is that we treat each other like family even while putting our families first,” she says. 
“M-Mig’s focus is to provide for our employees and keep everyone safe. …I started with knowing very little about the industry and even about office management, but I have grown to serve in a major role in the company.”

From a Little Sprout

Raised in a dairy farming family gave Matt plenty of opportunities to work hard and learn well what it takes for even a small businessman to run a farm. One of his earliest memories happened when he was in the third grade; he got a hands-on welding lesson from his father. In a way, it was an introduction to construction that’s also an important aspect of running a farm.

Then, one day when he was 17 and in high school, Matt took special interest in an actual construction crew doing work at their dairy. He shadowed the workers to the point that once he graduated, the company invited him to become an employee—and he did.

Ever the learner, Matt also tried his hand at the residential plumbing business and worked with a steel structures company.

He fit college attendance in with each job. In this way, he obtained three associate degrees—general agriculture, agriculture mechanics and environmental technology—all obtained at nearby Merced College.

Since starting M-Mig in 2005, he has found that each day at work can present new learning opportunities, and he tackles them all with grit and gumption, even leading his employees to do the same. He personally provides periodic training sessions for his workers.

Matt’s next goal is to obtain a Class A general engineering contractor license so he can broaden the types of projects the company can pursue. He currently holds a Class B general contractor license.

Growing in knowledge and experience is also a trait he wants to instill in his children. He and his wife, Ashley, have two children: Evan, 3, and Max, 6. He hopes to help them have similar memories of learning from their dad just like his father gave him.

“All the things I got to do with my Dad, I can do with my kids,” he says. “I hope my kids become engineers.”

He adds: “God has blessed me with a great family and friends and a passion for construction.”

Gaining Moo-mentum

Matt dreams of working on mega construction projects like professional sports stadiums, high-rise buildings and the California High Speed Rail System, currently under construction. He loves urban development as much as farm and rural construction.

Until then, he’s quite content meeting the expectations of his clients needing construction work—and that means staying on top of specialty areas such as providing “cow comforts.”

Is that really a thing?…“Absolutely,” says Matt. “It’s one of our best revenue generators.” M-Mig crews are regularly called on to make adjustments to a dairy’s structure for the sake of the milk cows.

“Cow comfort is very important to farmers because it helps with milk supply/production, overall animal health and longevity and food management,” Jessica says.

The company has a “Fan Crew” to make sure that airflow makes the cows as comfortable as possible when getting milked. Now, that work is shared across other responsibilities.

Cow comforts aside, Matt has found his own rhythm of life. To him, following his heart at the helm of M-Mig and serving his neighbors’ agricultural pursuits is another clear advantage of living and loving life in rural America.

“You can knit a blanket in the evenings and yet you’re a welder all day long,” he says. “Any time you can learn is never a bad day.”