with siblings at the helm, montana celebrates 30 years of success

By: ryan sharpe, director of government affairs and communications

When you enter Montana Construction you immediately encounter the elevator that takes you to the administrative offices on the second floor of their Lodi headquarters. While this may seem mundane, to Dominic Santaite Sr., the patriarch of the family that runs Montana Construction, having an elevator was the ultimate symbol of success for the company he and his children built.

Building on the pillars instilled by their father, a longtime construction executive, his three children have built Montana Construction into a powerhouse in the construction industry that, to date, has completed thousands of projects in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and shows no signs of slowing down.

The Santaite siblings, Vincent and Dominic Jr. and Lisa Ballerini are understandably proud of the accomplishments of the organization that they originally ran out of the family home in Bogota with one computer and three pieces of equipment.

Vincent, who serves as Vice-President, founded the company in 1993 and was soon joined at the company by his sister, Lisa who is the company’s president. A few years later, their brother Dominic joined the team and is now the Chief Operating Officer. Throughout the years, other siblings, uncles, cousins and in-laws have also come to work at Montana, making their story a true family affair.

And that family atmosphere is a source of great pride among the three siblings and something that extends beyond their blood relatives. They say their 200 employees are like family to them, noting that in addition to their annual Christmas Gala, they hold regular dinners with specific units to reinforce the familial bonds of the team and they buy lunch for the staff daily.

Of course, the lunches and the family atmosphere are not the only things that allow Montana to maintain the vast majority of its employees. In addition to the family atmosphere, their staff is well-compensated and enjoy generous benefits. Several employees have been with Montana since its founding 30 years ago and they experience very little turnover, especially among their office staff. They are now seeing the adult children of their longtime employees working at the company.

Having multiple family members on the team contributes to the company success because, as Vincent notes, they “have skin in the game.”

“Having friends and family working together is a win-win; you trust they will do the right thing and you get to reward them for it,” said Lisa. “It feels good, besides we were young, so we worked hard and played hard."

In the field, they also retain the majority of their workforce of 22 crews, which are comprised of members of Laborers #472 and

Operating Engineers from Local #825. Their positive relationship with their labor partners and the fact that their staff is typically working year-round helps keep turnover to a minimum. And Vincent points out that many of the field staff who leave seek to come back to the company.

While Montana is wildly successful, the road to success was not always smooth. In fact, Montana wouldn’t even exist if Vincent didn’t decide to quit college and convince his father to get back into the construction business. The three siblings say they learned how to operate a construction company from their father who had previously run his own construction company.

Initially, Montana was performing small public projects like repairing catch basins, installing sewer laterals and manholes, and providing emergency service. With limited bonding capacity, they were unable to pursue larger projects and Lisa notes that she quickly learned the financial side of the business, including bonding and cash flow. In fact, in the early stages, Lisa notes that initially none of the siblings collected a salary because any income was going to pay the mortgage.

As a company headed by teens and early twenty-somethings they were often not taken seriously, and when they attended pre-construction meetings, they were sometimes asked where the company owner was. Lisa notes Montana is a Woman-Owned Business (WBE) and that, as a woman in a male-dominated field, she too, has sometimes been underestimated. However, she is quick to point out that the acceptance of women in the industry has improved dramatically over the years and notes the great relationships she has with many of her colleagues.

Despite the obstacles they faced early on, the Santaite siblings persevered and soon began expanding their operations, investing in new equipment and bidding on larger projects. In fact, they credit much of their success to lessons learned from their early challenges. This process, they say, helped them to stand out as a company that excels in communicating with owners, engineers and residents. They also point to their experience working in the field for giving them unique insight into managing their teams.

"By doing jobs no one else wanted at times, we earned our reputation of integrity and hard work,” said Dominic. “It's nice to hear ‘that's a Montana job’ from competitors and engineers."

While they are capable of performing different types of construction projects, Montana is focused on the water and sewer work which they do extremely effectively and for which there is a growing demand.

They point to a handful of projects as examples of the varied types of work they have performed for different owners. For instance, Montana installed a flood control barrier in Green Brook for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In Overpeck Park in Leonia, they installed approximately 10,000 feet of 72-inch and 66-inch sewer lines and also worked on the remediation of the Overpeck Park Landfill.

Most recently, Montana replaced over 5,000 lead service lines in Newark—all within 9 months. Due to the aggressive schedule, they were replacing 40 lead service lines a day and were forced to hire 70 new employees in a month.

As for the future, Montana does not expect to substantially change its scope of work and plans to continue working with its many existing clients who often reach out to them. The relationships with current and existing clients are what will continue to fuel the company’s growth. In fact, this belief is prominently displayed on their website in large letters that says, “We Build Relationships.”

“We have never been about chasing volume for profit,” says Vincent. “We are going to sustain what we are doing and focus on what we are great at.”

While they now do some private work and have opened a new office in Red Bank, Montana will continue to do what made them so successful over the past three decades. A key to that success is the superior--and around-the-clock—service they offer their cli- ents. Indeed, Vincent and Dominic have both interrupted dates with their current wives to take calls about emergency work.

They also plan to continue taking an active role in the UTCA where Lisa serves on the Board of Directors. She says this role has helped her gain perspective and learn from other contractors. In addition, she values learning about issues facing the industry, noting UTCA keeps them “in the know.”

When asked about challenges they face, they cite New Jersey’s often onerous regulations, material cost escalation and supply chain issues, as well as the difficulties attracting skilled labor. They would like to see the industry address the labor shortage by encouraging young people to consider a career in the construction industry as an alternative to college.

As for their futures, the three siblings are still young enough that they are not planning to hand over the reins at Montana anytime soon. They all have children and agree that while the business is demanding, they are committed to spending more time with their families. Lisa and her brothers are busy with their children’s various sports, Dominic is aiming to squeeze in some more golf, while Vincent plays in a competitive pool league.

It isn’t often that you hear of a business that has survived and flourished for 30 years. It’s even more unusual to hear about a successful company that is wildly successful while being run by three siblings. But in talking to Lisa, Vincent and Dominic, it becomes clear very quickly why they have been so successful. Their commitment to family--including their work family--runs incredibly deep and that is such an integral part of Montana’s success.

And while they are proud of what they built from practically nothing, it is also clear that they are driven to continue the work that has propelled them to unparalleled success over these past three decades. If the past 30 years are any indication, the future is bright for Montana Construction. We congratulate them on achieving this milestone and we look forward to watching Montana flourish for many years to come.