After 75 years and three generations, the team at Stanker & Galetto knows a thing or two about delivering large-company results with the relationship-first approach of a family business.
And it’s partly because the development company is a long-running family affair itself.
Founded in 1946 by the grandfather of President David D’Onofrio, Stanker & Galetto has also seen D’Onofrio’s father Mark and uncle Peter Galetto Jr. at the helm for the past 40 years. His brother-inlaw—Ethan Byler, chief development officer—also became part of the business four years ago. Just like his father and uncle before, D’Onofrio and Byler will continue the tradition of leading the family business.
The company has been able to endure and thrive throughout the years, D’Onofrio says, because of its dedication to a high quality of work and respect for relationships both longstanding and new.
“We’ve had some clients who have come to us after talking to the larger firms specializing in their industry, like food processing or cold storage, and say they want more of a family feeling, especially in South Jersey where there are a lot of good, family-owned businesses that want that family-type relationship,” he explains. “That’s what we provide, and we do it with the expertise of what we’ve learned, because you learn something from every project.”
What began as a general construction company has since expanded its roster of services to meet the region’s needs, and is recognized as a leading design-build firm in South Jersey. Over the decades, the team has completed projects that include constructing everything from medical facilities to car dealerships to warehouses, as well as delving into real estate, industrial and commercial development. Design-build services require retaining overall leadership of a project team of architects, engineers and other professionals, and hiring the most qualified subcontractors and tradesmen throughout South Jersey.
The project team is engaged with the foremost goal to execute a timely, cost-effective and high-quality end result for the collective client.
“The customer is engaged in the design process,” says Byler. “We tell them the type of facility we’d be interested in owning and leasing to them. We want to build a modern facility, so then we just take their requirements and scope out the project, analyze the cost information, let them know what the rates would be to lease the building and then come to a lease agreement prior to even starting design and construction.”
As a construction project also includes the municipality where a facility will be located, Stanker & Galetto makes sure that it’s in constant contact with a town’s local government, too.
“Part of it is putting together these projects and great opportunities for our customers, but we also see the communities we work in as our customers,” Byler adds. “It’s helping them with tax revenue, it’s helping them with job opportunities. Putting these communities first helps sustain that long-term commitment.”
Take, for example, the recently finished refrigerated warehouse in Delanco designed for the ever-growing Misfits Market, which delivers the “ugly produce” that grocery stores and markets pass on stocking. After the site’s previous facility burned down, Stanker & Galetto purchased the property in a partnership with RLS Logistics and began the redevelopment process. From there, the S&G team worked with Misfits Market to ensure the custom- built unit fits their exact needs.
“Misfits Market originally came to us about building a 150,000-square-foot building for them and then before we even completed that building, they wanted an additional 95,000 square feet. … The result was a great project for both parties and building a new relationship by executing rapidly in a critical time for their business,” D’Onofrio says.
D’Onofrio and Byler also cite a current project as an example of how deep S&G’s roots go. When Comar, a supplier specializing in plastics and medical packaging now in its
“My uncle, father and grandfather built some of their original facility in Buena,” says D’Onofrio. “The CEO of Comar is part of the original founding family of that business, so there was a recognition of the capabilities that we could bring to the table to execute an expansion for them. It speaks to those old relationships becoming new relationships.”
Byler, D’Onofrio and the whole Stanker & Galetto team do not take that long-cultivated reputation for granted.
“It’s the definition of success, that David’s and my wife’s grandfather, uncle and father have built a company that has been reliable and trusted in the community for 75 years,” says Byler. “We feel empowered and driven by our responsibility to continue that.”
“We still get calls from people we built with 30 or 40 years ago, even if leadership has changed,” D’Onofrio confirms. “People need reliability, and they want to work with people they trust.”
