Now the Construction Manager at VIKOR Teleconstruction, Josh Biel began his career in the tower business in August of 2019, when he decided he needed a change in his life. A mutual friend of Vikor CEO Craig Snyder made the initial introduction, and Biel was offered an entry level tower tech job in January of 2020.
“My first job out, we were sent to Grand Forks, ND, and I believe I spent my first three days in the hotel, as the windchill was between -40 and -50 below zero. I thought to myself, ‘What did I get myself into here.’ My first tower I climbed was outside Fargo, ND and I will never forget it. From the view at the top I knew I was hooked,” Biel said.
Biel cites VIKOR’s in-house training for bringing him up to speed, literally teaching him the ropes along with instruction on all the other gear. He singles out Luke Hansen, Brandon Foster, Ben Geppert, Bart Roberts, and Nick McCord as his “teachers.” “It isn’t a company, it’s family,” he said. “They’ve demonstrated both leadership, and understanding both in good times in the industry and bad.”
He said he was taught that the right way to do things isn’t always the easiest, but in the end will get the job done safely, efficiently, and profitably. Although he works out of the Sioux Falls office, Biel is frequently on the road and currently doing 4G-5G upgrades for AT&T, a cellular site on a church in Duluth, MN. Last Friday, Biel told Inside Towers the temperature in northern Minnesota was at a bracing -6 degrees when they got to work, along with a 10 mph wind.
“It makes for a brutal day when you are 300 feet in the air for six to eight hours a day,” he said. “The tradeoff would have to be those southern jobs in the winter, or those 90 degree days in the summer at 500 feet, when there is just enough breeze to keep the mosquitos off of you. But,” he reflected, “those are the days that we live for.”
His favorite part of the job is working with the field staff, who he said are willing to go down the road, away from their families, to keep people connected in this country. “It inspires me every day,” he said. “Nothing makes you feel more accomplished than seeing an entry level tower climber come through the door, and watching them learn, sharpen their craft, and grow into leaders and crew chiefs here.”
He pointed out that almost all of the office staff in charge of the field are former tower climbers which he said is invaluable when it comes time to execute on a job since they all have “been there, done that” themselves.
Biel said he enjoys watching the new hires for the first time, seeing their eyes widen when the tower moves, or their legs and arms shaking from fatigue on their first 500 footer. “It is inspiring to me,” he said. “It reminds me of the courage that this job takes. The grit, the strength, the desire to climb higher, knowing that all of us were there once too. It’s a brotherhood and unless you have lived it you will never understand.”
Although fairly new to the industry, Biel has observed that big companies with their matrix pricing, have hamstrung the tower industry over the past couple of years. Young men and women aren’t coming out of college hitting the technical field like they were in 2010-2020, he said.
“We need to bring back the education, safety practices, and awareness to this industry, which is driven on data and let’s face it, data consumption isn’t ever going to go down in the tech world we live in today,” Biel said.
By Jim Fryer, Inside Towers Managing Editor
Reader Interactions