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In the summer of 2008 Jeniffer Anderson and long time family friend Christopher Stefandis with Taykar Mechanical brainstormed an idea to start an insulation company. Being that the Anderson/Halverson family had two generations of insulators working for different companies at the time, it made perfect sense to combine Jeniffer’s sales and business skills from 10 years at Computer Associates and Chris’s mechanical and general contracting network.
In October of 2008 X-Cell Insulation was born. The ownership team signed with Local 12 heat and frost insulators right from the start. With the family already integrated in the industry and being union members, Jeniffer felt this would give them the best chance for growth. Jeniffer also knew that affiliating with a union from the start would help grow the X-Cell product faster with a large talent pool of well trained skilled workers. Ed Anderson, an insulator with 20 years experience at the time, was the company’s first hire. Through a very tough economy and obstacles from competitor’s resistance to overcome, X-Cell continued a positive path forward.
By 2009 Dean Halverson and George Anderson bought into the company and together purchased Chris Stefanidis’s partial shares to become minority principals with the company. With the addition of Dean and George, the company was able to expand with healthy controlled growth. Each year overall sales grew by 30% to 50%. Dean Halverson helped build the X-Cell firestop division from the ground up. In 2010, X-Cell signed with the Carpenters Union Local 157 and added a group of talented carpenters to our field staff to perform firestopping and life safety work. In 2015, X-Cell merged with Ideal Core Solutions and Firestop Solutions. Eventually acquiring the Firestop Solutions Rochester branch in 2016, X-Cell was able to expand its footprint into the upstate New York market. X-Cell then signed up with the Carpenters Union Local 276 to expand into the Northern NY market.
In 2019, X-Cell once again merged with another competing business, All Temp Insulation and the Hishmeh family, expanding our ever growing network into all new areas of the industry.
From a first-generation family dream built in a basement in the Anderson family home in 2008 to our state of the art headquarters in Bohemia with 3 locations and 40 employees, X-Cell has been built on a foundation of honesty, integrity, and a true dedication to service.
President
In 2008 Jeniffer opened X-Cell Insulation with then partner Christopher Stefanidis from Taykar Mechaincal. Jeniffer and Chris combined business forces during a very tough economy. Jeniffer had years of sales and business experience selling a networking software product to the west coast of the United States. Chris with construction business experience convinced Jeniffer to look into the possibility of opening an insulation company and implementing all of her state of the art advancements into the construction industry.
From digital takeoffs to field tablets for foreman and up to the minute job costing, Jeniffer’s dream has become a reality. Also integrating family into the business only strengthened the foundation of the company. With 12 of her family members added into the operation, the X-Cell product is truly a family run business. Also, inline with the forward thinking of the strength of women in the construction industry, Jeniffer has hand picked women in positions of power from management to field supervisors.
COO
Dean, a local 12 member spanning 40 years, joined the X-Cell team in July of 2009 and bought some shares of the company. With his desire to contribute to building a firestop company from the ground up, Dean used his blueprint and a catalog of industry clients who knew his abilities and life safety knowledge to build a firestop division that has expanded it’s footing through NY, CT, NJ, and PA.
Over the span of 12 years, X-Cell has built a firestop team that collectively understands the NYS life safety code. On a daily basis, Dean and his team continue to correct the industry deficiencies on projects and help builders achieve TCO for building owners within schedule. Every step of the way Dean oversees the quality control of our product and continues to consult and educate the industry of the changing codes.
Executive Vice President
Ed, a second generation insulator, started working for X-Cell in December of 2008. With no business experience and 24 years in Local 12, Jeniffer chose Ed from the start as her first hire to help expand the footprint of X-Cell with his years of industry relationships built on hard work and honesty.
Ed estimated jobs through the early years as well, to keep operating costs down being that the company started off very small. Over the years as the company has grown, his role in X-Cell has expanded within the company to Head of Field Operations and the Executive Vice President. With his daily contributions to keeping the product we sell pristine and customers satisfied, Ed has become a vital component to the foundation of what X-Cell is today.
Project Manager
Amy joined the X-Cell team in October 2015. Although she had no prior field construction experience, Amy was hired based on her tireless work ethic and complete dedication to what she does. Jeniffer felt strongly about the addition of Amy to lead our field team because of these qualities. The result speaks for itself. Over 4 years, Amy took to classroom training sessions and slowly integrated into field work. By 2019 Amy had full control of all insulation management responsibilities, dealing with vendors, union manpower and the management team of X-Cell. Amy, through her efforts, has made herself one of the best PMs in the industry. She manages over 30 people on a daily basis from the field team by making sure the proper manpower is provided as needed based on customer demand. Amy’s unwavering commitment to maintain the quality of the X-Cell product is her finest attribute.
Insulation Estimator
Brendan joined the X-Cell team in May 2013. At the time of Brendan’s hire, the sales dept was still performing traditional paper take offs. Brendan was an integral part of helping to build the digital estimating system X-Cell now runs today. With his vision of moving X-Cell into the digital age, the volume of sales and accuracy of pricing increased in ways that can not be measured.
Brendan understands the importance of communication with each client and the necessary demand to help value engineer proposals to meet budgets. His knowledge of the NYS Energy code is tested with every complex bid that is presented.
Firestop Estimator
Rob started with X-Cell in Jan 2016. Previously an employee of Firestop Solutions, Rob was added to the team when X-Cell took over Firestop Solutions’ operations. He has helped build a firestop pricing structure and expand the footprint of X-Cell within the market. Rob is also a major component in managing our Northern NY division.
His level of knowledge of life safety code and UL/EJ details is unmatched in the industry. His attention to detail keeps the X-Cell Firestop division focused on providing the proper solutions and details needed for a fast paced industry on a daily basis.
Office Manager
Maria joined the X-Cell team in 2018 and was an integral part of building the office environment and balance that makes people want to come to work. Having had a long successful career at Cablevision in a management role, she learned the importance of employee communication within an office.
Maria always has a smile and a professional approach to every client, vendor and employee that walks in the door. She is a true office professional and is a vital part of the success of what defines X-Cell.
Office Administrator AP/AR Dept
Jess was brought into the X-Cell fold in Sept 2019. With a degree from Scranton University and a hard work ethic, Jess ensures that all things run smooth within the accounts payable/accounts receivable dept week to week. A never ending task that Jess handles with a positivity and an energy that is welcomed in a fast paced high demand industry.
Additionally, Jess helps manage and feed the constant data into our system to help keep X-Cell a paper free company and keep us environmentally friendly into the future.
IT / Technology Development
Tyler joined X-Cell in 2020. He has a degree from Marist University in Computer Science and worked for Competition Auto Group in the IT dept before being hired at X-Cell. Tyler secures the safety of our digital information and keeps our operating systems new and up to date with the ever changing technology in today’s world.
Tyler also has built the DocuLifeSafety digital mapping program X-Cell implements on each single source firestop project we install on. It is a state of the art informational tool to help manage fire barriers within a facility long after X-Cell leaves the project.
Although construction generally has been a bit behind in adapting to the digital age, Jeniffer has always believed in being ahead by using technology tools to advance all aspects of the company. With the addition of Tyler to the team, the company is in a position to stay ahead of that curve. We look forward to how far Tyler will take us.
Phone: (631) 780-6601
E-Mail: info@xcellinsulation.com