Stellar is a privately owned design,
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
,
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...
and mechanical services firm headquartered in
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
, and founded in 1985. The company employs more than 750 people, including architects, engineers, constructors, refrigeration specialists and technicians.
History
Stellar was founded as the Stellar Group
in 1985 in Jacksonville, Florida by Ron Foster, Sr. and four other associates. Its first project involved the renovation and construction of condominiums and a marina at the
Epping Forest Yacht Club.
Stellar went on to specialize in the design and construction of food processing facilities and low-temperature distribution firms, often building refrigerated warehouses.
Stellar's early clients included beverage company,
Tropicana Products
Tropicana Brands (''pronounced as'' traa·puh·ka·nuh) is a former American fruit-based beverage company. It was founded in 1947 by Anthony T. Rossi in Bradenton, Florida. Between 1998 and 2021 it was a subsidiary of PepsiCo, but in August 2021 ...
. It broke ground on Tropicana's
Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698.
History
Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...
-based headquarters in 1989.
Over the course of the next decade, Stellar expanded its services by developing a commercial division with projects including religious establishments, automobile dealerships, and health care facilities. It also opened a power and utilities division to construct cooling systems for power plants and other structures. By 2002, the firm had worked on a variety of projects for clients including
JEA
Kim Hyo-jin (Hangul: 김효진; born September 18, 1981) better known by her stage name JeA is a South Korean singer and songwriter. She is best known as the leader of South Korean girl group Brown Eyed Girls. As a solo artist, she has contri ...
,
General Mills
General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company ori ...
, and
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, sin ...
. With Nestlé, Stellar was responsible for the design and construction of a $250-million food processing plant that began in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...
in 2002.
The company also served as general contractor on the $850-million mixed-use development at the former Jacksonville Shipyards.
In 2007, the firm officially changed its name from the "Stellar Group" to "Stellar."
In 2008, it began serving as the construction manager for the new sanctuary at Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church in Jacksonville,
a project that was completed in around one year.
Also in 2008, Stellar began work on the
Heinz
The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six contin ...
food processing plant in
Florence County, South Carolina
Florence County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 137,059. Its county seat is Florence.
Florence County is included in the Florence, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county ...
. The firm was responsible for the plant architecture and all construction services at the 225,000 square-foot facility which opened in August 2011.
In 2013, Stellar began work on
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, sin ...
's research and development facility in
Solon, Ohio
Solon ( ) is a city in southeastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. A suburb of Cleveland, it is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. According to the 2020 census, the population of Solon was 24,262.
The city has been recognized by '' ...
again providing architectural and construction services.
In 2015, Stellar completed construction of a 117,000-square-foot soluble coffee plant in
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georg ...
for
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 ...
. The plant, which had been in construction for three years, produces the coffee company's VIA line of instant coffee products. ''Food Engineering Magazine'' named it the "Fabulous Food Plant" of the year in 2015.
In 2016, the firm completed a $7.6-million renovation of the
Walt Disney World Resort
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...
's
Shades of Green
Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint ...
, a resort complex aimed at military personnel and their families. The renovation was completed to house athletes for the
Invictus Games
The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event first held in 2014, for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans. The word 'Invictus' means 'unconquered', chosen as an embodiment of the fighting spi ...
in 2016, and further renovations of the 283-room Magnolia Wing began in 2018.
Another Stellar project—the 160,000 square-foot Bell & Evans poultry packaging, storage, and frozen processing plant in
Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania—was named the "Fabulous Food Plant" by ''Food Engineering Magazine'' in 2016.
In 2018, Stellar completed the $18-million renovation of Herrmann Hall, a historic lodging facility at the
Naval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California.
It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...
in
Monterey, California
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...
.
In 2019, Stellar completed a renovation of the Tom Bush Volkswagen dealership in Jacksonville. It was one of numerous renovations that Stellar had completed for the Tom Bush family of dealerships, including the Tom Bush Collision Center and Tom Bush BMW.
A $2.1-million renovation of the Tom Bush Mazda dealership in
Orange Park, Florida
Orange Park is a town in Clay County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Jacksonville, in neighboring Duval County. The population was 8,412 at the 2010 census. The name "Orange Park" is additionally applied to a wider area of norther ...
was completed the following year.
Operations
Stellar provides services to commercial and industrial clients in various markets including food & beverage; refrigeration & cold storage; military; automotive; educational; healthcare; institutional; hospitality; power & utilities; and office properties. It delivers the following services: planning, design, pre-construction, construction, refrigeration, mechanical and utility, building envelope, and total operations maintenance. The company has operations in 14 locations within the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
.
In
Engineering News-Record Magazine's May 2017 “Top 400 Contractors” list, which ranked companies by 2016 revenue, Stellar was ranked #150 overall, #6 among industrial contractors, and #3 in food and beverage. The Engineering News-Record Magazine's April 2017 “Top 500 Design Firms” listed Stellar at #329.
Philanthropy
In 2006, the company founded the Stellar Foundation to make its charitable giving process more formalized and begin accepting applications for yearly grants. The company has also begun matching individual employee charitable contributions up to $1,000.
Also in 2006, the company began sponsoring pre-engineering and mechanical drafting education at the
Allen D. Nease Senior High School. The program would later be termed the Stellar Academy of Engineering.
In 2017, the ''
Jacksonville Business Journal
The ''Jacksonville Business Journal'' is a weekly newspaper and daily website in Jacksonville, Florida. Part of the American City Business Journals, it covers business news in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida. It began publishing in 1985.
The ...
'' recognized Stellar as one of that year's "Partners in Philanthropy." The company gave an estimated $250,000 to nonprofit organizations in 2016.
References
External links
Stellar official websiteThe Stellar Foundation official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stellar Group
Construction and civil engineering companies of the United States
Companies based in Jacksonville, Florida
Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1985
American companies established in 1985
1985 establishments in Florida
Privately held companies based in Florida