Growing up, Haskell Project Superintendent Terry DeMauro enjoyed repairing the mechanical equipment on his family's dairy farm in upstate New York.
When he graduated from high school, DeMauro joined the Navy and volunteered to serve as a heavy equipment mechanic with the United States Construction Battalions, commonly known as the Navy Seabees.
DeMauro, now 61, spent eight years as a Seabee. But in the post-Vietnam Navy, there was a glut of veteran Seabees and DeMauro found his path to advancement blocked. He elected to leave the Navy in favor of private industry, a decision that has led him to a wide range of experience.
DeMauro and Suzi, his wife of 30 years, own a farm outside Las Vegas, where they established their home in the early 2000s when he was involved in building baggage facilities at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport.
Subsequently, he joined Ledcor, a Canadian construction company. But in 2017, Ledcor decided to cease operations on the West Coast of the United States and DeMauro, having spent his entire post-Navy career in the western United States, was unwilling to move to Canada.
In 2018, DeMauro joined Haskell, with a particular interest in their diverse project background and their strong western presence. And he's been busy ever since.
"Business is booming," DeMauro said in a recent interview.
His current assignment is working as a project supervisor on the construction of an 85-foot sugar refinery tower for Zucarmex, a Mexican company that produces sugar products.
The tower, which is located in south San Diego near the Mexican border, will be used to refine raw sugar into table sugar. That sugar will be marketed under the Zucarmex name and can be found on shelves for international foods in grocery stores.
DeMauro said his job is to "primarily focus on process-mechanical work."
Haskell considers him an expert in industrial process with a strong background in the Engineer, Procure, Construct (EPC) delivery method, an approach in which Haskell is the single source of contact and bears sole responsibility for the entire project.
"I've visited a lot of job sites in my time at Haskell and interacted with a lot of different field leaders, and Terry definitely stands out as someone with a very professional and technical background," said Matt Gulden, Vice President of Project Development for Haskell's Consumer Packaged Goods Group. "He commands respect. When you meet Terry, you instantly understand that he knows what he's doing."
Before joining the Zucarmex project, DeMauro helped upgrade the air compressor at the E & J Gallo Winery in Modesto, California, the world's largest winery. He finished that job in July 2019, then went to work on the Zucarmex project the next day.
DeMauro, who is the father of three adult children and the grandfather of nine, spends his free time while working in San Diego with Sid, his English bulldog.
"My wife and I are very into English bulldogs," DeMauro said.
He also enjoys golf, and once a year, he drives to Mexico for a week of deep-sea fishing.
When he's on the job, his focus is mentoring.
"My passion is to get the next generation ready," he said.
