Knoxville (WVLT) - When you think of construction crews, you probably don't think of women--especially in terms of the owner.
Well there's a mom in town who owns a construction company with her daughter and they're building a big business. We caught up with them today to find out what it's like to be a woman in this industry.
Their slogan is "women rock"...And they do...Nicely Construction and Excavating sells rock and dirt and hauls it to construction sites in Knoxville.
"It's my mom's company and we're really proud of it," Whitney Nicely said.
That's right, it's owned 100 percent by women. Kathy Nicely started the business 5 years ago with her 23 year old daughter--a 4th generation owner--but the first women.
And now after 2 years of hard work, received certification by Women's Business Enterprise Council.
"I was really really excited I called everybody in the family and had a celebration dinner," Whitney said.
The certification means more business including a better chance at government jobs. As women though, many of their customers are often confused about who's in charge.
"We say we are us girls no let us talk to the real boss you are talking to the boss," Kathy Nicely said.
In keeping with their namesake, the Nicely's are generous to their employees.
"They treat you like family instead of an employee. That's what I like about them," worker Andrew Gray said.
And the men work side by side with female drivers.
"Women is stepping up, they're right there beside men, doing their deal. I don't have a problem with it," Gray said.
Gray says there's one big bonus for working with these women.
"They're not bad lookin," Gray said.
But all jokes aside, with 25 dumptrucks and 10 heavy machines--business is running good. There's just one problem.
"Fuel right now and insurance really got us in crunch, but other than that we're busy and that's good," Kathy said.
Good news for this mother daughter team who hopes for generations to just keep on trucking. Nicely Construction is currently working on several local projects including the Smart Fix 40 road construction project.
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