From municipality work to building his own business | Dan Catena - #129

Fireside America with Ryan Robbins · Sep 10, 2026 · 1h 2m

We sat down with Dan Catena, owner of ADL.

Dan dropped out of high school and eventually went to work for the Township of Middletown, NJ, where he worked his way up to Assistant Director and Supervisor.

But in 2011, he realized that if he wanted to build a bigger life for himself and his family, he had to make a move.

So while still working full time for the township, Dan started a dumpster and demolition company on the side.

A year later, Hurricane Sandy hit. Business took off, but Dan still didn’t have enough years in to secure his pension. So he kept going.

He worked both jobs while being…