For more than 100 years Italian families have held sway over the fireworks trade in the US. The Chinese might have invented fireworks centuries ago, but in America the Italians made them popular.
On Long Island, the Gruccis dominate. In Pennsylvania, the Zambellis. In Indiana, the Cartianos. The Souzas have the market in California, the Rozzis in Ohio and the Alonzos in upstate New York.
The simple firework celebrations of the past, have been replaced by costly extravaganzas. The Grucci family alone, this weekend will orchestrate about 90 Independence Day displays of pyrotechnics in the US and Europe.
Fireworks are surging in popularity. Private shows at parties and weddings now account for more than 50 per cent of the Gruccis' business compared with about 25 per cent 10 years ago. "It's not unusual for us to do a $100,000 program for an East Hampton wedding."
However, despite growth, firework companies face mounting expenses brought on by Anti-terrorist legislation after September 11, 2001, requiring sizable costs for checking backgrounds of seasonal workers, and the tripling of insurance premiums.
Concetta Grucci, the 86-year-old mother/matriarch, is in Paris to prepare a lavish show for Bastille day on July 14. (I'm impressed!!)
Financial Times (London)
By Ellen Kelleher in New York
Thursday, July 1, 2004
At their sprawling factory on 90 acres in Brookhaven, New York, Felix Grucci Jr and his sister Donna are preparing. The part-time workers have been trained. Trucks brimming with firework shells are heading towards Atlantic City, Nantucket, Las Vegas and Honolulu. Concetta, their 86-year-old mother, has been dispatched to Paris to prepare a lavish show for Bastille day on July 14.
"She'll be back tomorrow so she'll be able to join the family and watch the festivities on Long Island," says Phil Butler, her son-in-law.
Predictably, July 4 is the busiest day on the calendar for the Grucci family. This weekend they will orchestrate about 90 Independence day displays of pyrotechnics in the US and Europe, conducting about one-third of their annual business in the span of three days.
For more than 100 years Italian families have held sway over the fireworks trade in the US. The Chinese might have invented fireworks centuries ago, but in America the Italians made them popular.
On Long Island, the Gruccis dominate. In Pennsylvania, the Zambellis. In Indiana, the Cartianos. The Souzas have the market in California, the Rozzis in Ohio and the Alonzos in upstate New York. "In the old days, they were very territorial," Mr Butler says. "Felix, my father-in-law, staked out Long Island. The Alonzos staked out upstate New York."
The families compete fiercely. The Zambellis, Gruccis and Souzas did not work together until 1986 when they teamed up to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. The show involved setting off shells from 30 barges off Lower Manhattan.
The fireworks business has evolved considerably since the late 1800s when Angelo Lanzetta, Felix Grucci's ancestor, left Italy for New York, his pockets stuffed with recipes for pyrotechnics. Lore has it that his neighbours in Bari, on the Adriatic, encouraged him to move because his explosions stopped hens laying eggs.
The simple firework celebrations of the past, in which a few shells were lit with flaming torches on saints' days, have been replaced by costly extravaganzas consuming tonnes of shells. Computers set out a "firing script", determining when each shell will be detonated as the music plays. "In the 1970s, the style was to shoot one shell, smoke a cigarette and shoot another one, but that soon became boring and repetitious," says Mr Butler. On Sunday, the Souza family will fire 30,000 shells in America's most elaborate annual pyrotechnic display, New York City's Fourth of July celebration.
Fireworks are surging in popularity. Private shows at parties and weddings now account for more than 50 per cent of the Gruccis' business compared with about 25 per cent 10 years ago. "It's not unusual for us to do a $100,000 (£55,000) programme for an East Hampton wedding," Mr Butler says. Revenue for the industry has jumped almost 28 per cent from $610m in 2000 to $775m last year.
However, despite this growth, firework companies face mounting problems. The rising revenues disguise falling margins. Prices remain soft and bidding wars are common for lucrative contracts.
"The industry as a whole is going to have to determine how best to increase prices so they can make a modest profit," says Julie Heckman, of the American Pyrotechnics Association.
Expenses are also climbing. Anti-terrorist legislation brought in after September 11 2001 has forced firework companies to absorb sizeable costs. They must pay to check the backgrounds of the scores of seasonal workers they hire, even if the employees shoot only one or two shows. In some cases, the cost of their insurance has also soared by more than 300 per cent.
"It's really tough for these companies. They are struggling," Ms Heckman says.
Another concern is that the older generation of these family-run businesses is dying out and their children are reluctant to take their place.
Consider the Gruccis. Concetta Grucci, has been head of the company since her husband Felix died in 1993.
In 2000, Felix Jr left the business to run for Congress. If he had not lost his re- election campaign two years later, he probably would not have returned. Tragedy has also struck the company. In 1983, Concetta's second son Jimmy was killed in an accident at a manufacturing compound.
"This is not a business you can push someone into," says Mr Butler. "We can't depend on the family as much as we used to. We still have cousins, uncles and nephews who are involved, but not in the same ratio as we once did."
Yet Ms Heckman predicts the families will survive. "They have so much pride," she says. "It's a craft that will be passed down for years to come."
FT.com
Home US
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename
=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid
=1087373416467