The DiGeronimo family has construction in their blood. In 1956, Sam DiGeronimo and his son Don founded Independence Excavating in Cleveland on the foundations of faith, family, and hard work. Since then, the DiGeronimo family has grown, expanded, and excelled in the construction industry through DiGeronimo Companies, an umbrella business that contains the following Ohio based entities:
- Independence Excavating
- Precision Environmental Company
- Independence Construction
- Independence Demolition
- Precision ProCut
- Indy Equipment
- Flex-Tech Resources
Independence Excavating may have started with a single backhoe and a truck, but the company was destined to make a much larger impact in the construction industry. After completing their first big project in the city of Cleveland in 1972 the Justice Center, the company continued to be a major player in projects that very much impacted the skyline of Cleveland as we know it today: from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to The Cleveland Clinic the three major sports venues for the Browns, Indians and Cavaliers, and many other sites in between.
“That impact on the skyline is something we talk about a lot,” said Joe DiGeronimo, grandson of Sam and nephew of Don, and current Vice President of Precision Environmental Company. “We grew up with a lot of pride working in construction.”
“Our family might be a little different,” added Nick DiGeronimo, Joe’s cousin and current Business Development Executive at Independence Excavating. “We were surrounded by pride and construction all the time. We started working in our family companies when we were just teenagers.”
Across the family of DiGeronimo companies, that pride in work is evident through their core values and dedication to developing the next generation of workforce, which is why Nick and Joe are excited to support the ongoing efforts of I Build America – Ohio and our mission of developing pride in work and careers in construction and recruiting great people to work in the industry.
“At Precision, we’re primarily hiring construction laborers,” Joe said. “We’re trying very hard to think of how we can increase our exposure to prospective employees, and we’re reaching out to the community in so many ways to try to get people excited about working in construction.”
Precision Environmental Company is highly involved in the ACE Mentorship program in Cleveland, and they continually work to get more involved with local schools to encourage teachers and influencers to incorporate construction and STEM subjects into part of the ongoing curriculum.
“I’m personally getting involved in my kids’ grade school STEM Club to bring hands-on projects directly into the classroom,” Joe said.
Similarly, Independence Excavating regularly participates in OCA Constructor for a Day programs.
“We need good people,” Nick said. “We want to get great people into the career-construction pipeline. I don’t think a lot of young people know what they want, so we try to show them the potential of operators, laborers, carpenters, and tradespeople. We need them all.”
Through their support of I Build America – Ohio, the DiGeronimo Companies are hoping to help close the gap on the space when young kids play with Tonka trucks and when they make important decisions about their careers. The companies are on board with spreading the word to students, folks who tried college but found it not a great fit, military Veterans, and the many men and women in Ohio—and beyond—who would benefit from the promise of a career in construction.
To learn more about the DiGeronimo Companies, including Precision Environmental Company and Independence Excavating, visit www.digeronimocompanies.com.
