Company of the Month: Taking Manhattan: Long-term planning and committed team propel Stalco Construction to $150 million in annual project volume

Construction veterans Kevin Harney and Alan Nahmias established Stalco Construction, Inc., a commercial and institutional general contractor and construction manager, in 1992. By 2008, the partners, both with impressive portfolios of prominent ground-up and interior projects in New York City and throughout the region, led the company into becoming a successful full-service contractor with 30 employees, $40 million in annual project volume, and a solid client base. With the onset of a recession back in 2008, many firms began to struggle, but Stalco took a leap forward. It is currently ranked as the 89th largest contractor and the 26th largest construction manager in the United States by Building Design & Construction magazine. "The firm followed a creative, yet very common sense strategy that catapulted it to the forefront of construction services in the Greater New York area," Harney said. By 2014, Stalco increased its staff to nearly 50, doubled its line of commercial credit, and won several coveted projects in New York City, a market it decided to energetically pursue in 2009 in addition to its traditional bases in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The firm significantly expanded its commercial/office, institutional, and healthcare construction groups and moved into the pre-engineered structures market, through collaboration with Varco Pruden Buildings. Today, Stalco's portfolio of ongoing projects totals approximately $150 million, including $70 million of work in New York City. An additional $40 million worth of new contracts is in the preconstruction phase. The ideas behind Stalco's incredibly successful business strategy were simple: a dedicated team, personal and organizational accountability, consistent and continuous marketing efforts, long-term planning, and conservative financial management. Committed to staying afloat in the poor economy while providing superior services, the partners developed a survival plan, which they called the Six Phase Approach. "It outlined short-, mid-, and long-term goals of regional and, eventually, national expansion, financial and project value goals and timelines, and the ways to achieve these objectives," Nahmias said. Considering personnel part of their extended family, the principals promised that no one would be laid off due to the economy. In return, they requested that every employee commit to strict deadlines, participate in business development efforts, and become involved in the company-wide business decision process. "Both sides delivered, and the company's staff has grown by more than 60% since 2008," Harney said. "Stalco has also continued hiring throughout the recession." Preserving and growing the team was one of the critical goals of the company. "It took us nearly two decades to build a very experienced, well-functioning group of professionals who complement each other's expertise and are devoted to accommodating clients and delivering their projects smoothly," said Harney. "We refused to allow the recession to force us to abandon our personnel." "We knew that it takes at least three years to build an effective team. By preserving our project management and support staff, we were ready to take advantage of increasing opportunities, while many of our competitors still struggle to rebuild their staff following layoffs over the last few years," said Nahmias. "We employ some of the most experienced project managers in the Tri-state area and can take upon complex, large projects that few other firms can deliver." Stalco's impressive recent work portfolio proves this strategy works. The firm is currently building the new $27.8 million Queens Library Elmhurst Branch and continuing extensive $24 million renovations and expansions at the Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology, both in Queens. Several complex laboratory, medical, and teaching spaces are under construction at the College of Optometry in Manhattan. In the Bronx, Stalco is putting the finishing touches on the $5.2 million new Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center's emergency department. In Brooklyn, the work has started on the $3.6 million Brooklyn Bridge Park Management and Community Building. Also in Manhattan, Stalco just completed the $15 million historic restoration of the landmark Pier A, the oldest surviving pier in New York City, which is targeting a LEED Silver rating; the 60,000 s/f, $8.4 million, LEED Platinum-targeted Asphalt Green Battery Park City community center; and the 20,000 s/f NTT America data center at 111 8th Ave. Outside of New York City, the firm is taking advantage of the recovering economy as well. Its current and recent commercial and institutional work includes the on-call construction management assignment for the 760,000 s/f CA, Inc.'s Global Headquarters in Islandia, NY; the U.S. Headquarters and laboratory of Genometrica Research, Inc. in Hauppauge, NY; the $1 million DENTSPLY International office and laboratories in Islandia, NY; the $1.1 million, 27,000 s/f law offices of Lewis Johs Avallone Aviles, LLP, in Islandia, NY; the 25,000 s/f IGA Supermarket in Southold, NY; and the $14.1 million, 50,000 s/f Riverhead Charter School in Calverton, NY. The recent increase in medical construction across the region is also reflected in Stalco's healthcare project portfolio. In addition to the College of Optometry and Lincoln Medical Center projects in New York City, the firm's healthcare work includes the $815,000 Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and the 12,000 s/f Health Sciences Library at the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, NY; and the $5.8 million MRI suite at the Stony Brook University Hospital in Stony Brook, NY. "Building on the strength of our team and the company's solid financial position, we are energetically expanding in New York City," Nahmias said. "Office interiors, retail, and ground-up commercial buildings are the markets we are focusing on now."