Volume 18, No. 1 A Quarterly Publication of Independence Excavating, Inc. Winter, 2005

Effective October 1st, the DiGeronimo Companies completed theacquisition of the Haydite lightweight aggregate productionfacility located on Stone Road in Independence. The newcompany has been named DiGeronimo Aggregates, LLC.

The plant, formerly owned by Hydraulic Press Brick Company,is the oldest continuously run business in the city. HydraulicPress Brick was incorporated in 1868,manufacturing high-grade brick at this sitebeginning in 1892. These denser face brickwere formed under hydraulic pressure andwere more advanced than the handmadebrick in common use at the time.

Although the Independence plant no longermanufactures brick, in 1928 it began tospecialize in the manufacture of Haydite expanded shalelightweight aggregate with the construction of two small rotarykilns. In 1971, a large 13-foot diameter kiln was constructed and two smaller were kilns shut down. Manufacturing capacityexceeds 250,000 tons per year.

Haydite, which is one-half the unit weight of regular stone, isused extensively in the construction industry. Besides theobvious weight advantages, engineers like to specify Haydite dueto its superior thermal and fire-resistive properties. Primarymarkets include masonry, structural concrete, artificial stoneveneers, concrete wallboard, water filtration media, geotechnicallightweight fill, refractory concrete, and landscape/horticulturalproducts. The newest products under development are beingsold nationwide for use as soil conditioners in sports athletic

fields and are marketed under the recently established Game-On brand name.

Haydite aggregate has been used in most of the skyscrapers,bridges, and sport arenas built in Ohio and the Midwest for thelast 70 years. These projects include the Main Avenue,Detroit/Superior, and Lorain/Carnegie bridges, BP Building,

Erieview Tower, Illuminating Building, StokesLibrary, Federal Courthouse, Jacobs Field,Gund Arena, and the Braddock Floating Damin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The unique properties of Haydite are betterappreciated when its method ofmanufacturing is understood. The rawmaterial is specific high-grade shale, similar

of that used to manufacture face brick. The shale contains all ofthe constituents necessary for expansion. The overburden isstripped by Independence Excavating using conventional earthmoving methods. The shale is mined in an open pit, crushed tothe proper size (minus 2”) by Independence Recycling in aportable in-pit crusher, and delivered to the storage bin via a 36”conveyor system that Indy Equipment manufactured.

The shale is introduced to the rotary kiln at the cold end. The kilnis fired at the discharge end with natural gas, coal or reused oil.The material is retained in the kiln for approximately one hour.During this time, minerals, which are subject to decomposition at high temperatures, are evolving gases. The shale issimultaneously being softened by the flame temperature in excessof 2,200° F. The resulting vitreous material contains a large number

DiGeronimo Companies Acquire Haydite Lightweight Aggregate Production Facility

See DiGeronimo Aggregates, pg. 4

2

P r e s i d e n t ’ s M e s s a g e

Vic DiGeronimo Sr.

Innovation + Inquisitiveness =A Lasting Friendship

In 1996 my wife and I visited Positano, Italy.One of the mornings we decided to take awalk on the very narrow road along the Amalficoast. As we were walking I noticed a smallconstruction site, (about 50 feet square). Isaw a young man there so I decided to cross

the road and find out what was going on.After attempting to introduce ourselves, wedid manage to exchange names. He statedhis name, Pasquale Cinque, so I introducedmyself as Vittorio Emanuel -so I soundedpretty Italian! We then began communicatingmostly by hand signals, (as most Italians doanyway). After a while I was able tocomprehend what was going on. He wrotewith a stick in the dirt that, for 20 anni (years),he had been building this little village ofNocelle roughly 2,500 feet up the mountain.He had a cable anchored to a post where wewere standing. The other end of the cablewas anchored at the top of the mountain. Anelectric winch pulled a box along the cable tohoist all of the building materials up to thevillage. It was quite innovative, as there wasonly one road to get to within one mile to thevillage. Obviously the only way to deliver theconstruction materials was “by the cable”.

I was amazed at this uniquemethod. He offered to giveLurlie a lift to the village inthe basket, but she declined. He then took us by a little Fiat to the end of the road and wewalked the last mile from the end of the roadto the village. We were amazed at the beautyof the little, quaint village.

Pasquale was so proud of all of hisaccomplishments over the twenty years and

appreciated our enthusiasm as heproudly explained all of hisvarious projects and his ability todo all of the work himself. Therewas a quaint little church, arestaurant, and several homes forthe village of about 100 residents.“Luminare,” he said as heproudly pointed to all of the neatelectric poles he transported bythe cable and installed himself.He then showed us the cable andwinch set up. It took 5 minutesand 45 seconds to haul the boxup the mountain to Nocelle. He

then placed a rock on the top of the controlpanel button and said, very proudly,“Automatico!” We then met his wife and twochildren – what a beautiful family! He wantedus to stay with them for a few weeks and justshowered us with love and admiration.

We have been back to see them several timesand just recently visited them with Angelo andMaria Pettiti in September. We met them formass on Sunday, and had a special dinnerwith them at their friend’s trattoriawhere our good friend and driver“Poppy” gave us a custommonogrammed cake for ouranniversary. It is hard to describethe warmth and friendship thatsurrounds Pasquale and hisbeautiful family. He even sang anItalian song personalized for us!Besides all of his construction

capabilities, he has a beautiful voice! We thenwent to his home and he showed us theprivate quarters they had for us to stay withthem.

To date, the road has been completed to theend, and only requires about a 500 ft. walkfrom the end of the road to the village. Thecable and winch are idle because materials, ifneeded, can now come by truck. Again, all ofthis has taken place because of an innovative(better method) construction project and myinquisitiveness to understand what washappening.

Pictured are Pasquale and his wife Palminaand his two children Angela and Maurizio –our Nocelle construction crew. Also picturedare the cable and basket. I have reprints of anarticle published in an elevator magazinewhich gets into the detail about the cablesystem. Call me if you would like a copy.

Arrivederci!!

3

The DiGeronimo Companies hosted their annual Christmas party at the Embassy Suites inIndependence. Everyone enjoyed a riveting performance by the Tessie Burke School of Irish Dancing(middle left), and of course no show would be complete without Santa Clause! We were pleased topresent Andy Fetzer, Jerry Rosen, Dave Travagliante and Rocky Sixta with an award for 25 years ofservice as well as a watch to Jimmy Wancata for his retirement.

Applause to Christi Tripodi and Lisa DiGeronimo for their efforts in organizing another first class event!

H o l i d a y C h e e rWishing you and your families a healthy and prosperous 2005!

4

of tiny non-connecting cells or pockets formed from the gas.

The expanded material is discharged from the kiln into a gratecooler. It is moistened prior to crushing to eliminate dust and tominimize segregation. The burnt shale is then crushed andscreened to achieve properly balanced gradations for different enduses. The various sizes of Haydite are stored in bins or instockpiles for loading into trucks.

The Haydite plant operates 24 hours per day and has 32employees. The new DiGeronimo Aggregates is pleased to be apart of the DiGeronimo Companies. The expertise that thesevarious subsidiaries bring to the production of Haydite, especiallyin crushing and screening operations, is most appreciated. TheHaydite plant wants to continue to improve the operation andprove once again that BETTER METHODS = SUCCESS!

Keith McCabeSales ManagerDiGeronimo Aggregates

D i G e r o n i m o C o m p a n i e s

Tony DiGeronimo, President

2004 has turned out to be another record year for PrecisionEnvironmental, and a breakout year for Precision ProCut with combinedrevenues of $35 million; exceeding expectations. With the majorexception of the work performed at ISG, there were not any very largejobs. The remainder of the work came from a magnitude of clients withnumerous different projects. Would you believe 1,303 separate jobswere completed in total?

We are very fortunate to have such a large and diverse clientele. We havetried to provide our clients with a full service operation for environmental,demolition, and associated needs. This is possible with a dedicatedproblem solving management team and a determined field force.

As we look ahead to the coming year we hope to be even better at serving our customers. We are very excited to be moving ourenvironmental and saw cutting offices and shop services into our newfacility located at 5500 Old Brecksville Road in Independence in early2005. This will consolidate all our people at one location and stream-line our delivery of services.

This year we will be celebrating our 18th year operating Precision, andlook forward to showcasing our talents and our new facility to ourcustomers, business associates and teammates.

Best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2005 to all!

DiGeronimo Aggregates...continued from pg. 1

5

CAT 963 Track Loader

(2) 350LC Hitachi Excavators (7) CAT 345B Excavator

CAT 320CL Excavator

ZX200LC Hitachi Excavator

Komatsu PC138 Excavator

GEARING UP FOR 2005!Purchases in excess

of $5,000,000

ZX850 Hitachi Excavator

6

Beaver Falls Steel Mill Demolition Location: State Rte. 18, Beaver Falls, PennsylvaniaOwner: Chuck Betters, Inc.Start: November 2004Completion: January 2005Scope of work: Demolition of an abandon BMWplant with 6,800 tons of scrap metal to be removed.

Ashtabula High School FoundationsLocation: Ashtabula, OhioOwner: Ashtabula School DistrictConstruction Manager: Project ConstructionServicesStart: November 2004Completion: May 2005Scope of work: Installation of 412 drilled caissons,form and pour of 64,000 square feet of gradebeams.

Charter Steel Concrete DemolitionLocation: E. 49th Street & Grant Ave., CuyahogaHts., Ohio Owner: Charter SteelStart: December 2004Completion: March 2005Scope of work: Removal of 25,000 cubic yards. of concrete foundations from old strip mill.

Coltman Road Demolition Location: Cleveland, Ohio Owner: Coltman Road LLCConstruction Manager: Hull & Associates Start: October 2004Completion: January 2005Scope of work: Demolition of an abandonedoffice/warehouse, removal and backfill of existingbasement, removal and backfill of undergroundtanks, and asbestos abatement.

ISG Door 40 DemoLocation: Cleveland, OhioOwner: International Steel GroupStart: October 2004Completion: December 2004Scope of work: Selective demolition of the P-Annealing Plant at ISG Steel including removal offour overhead cranes, a shot blaster, variousstacks, and installation of miscellaneous concretebulk heads

River Creek SubdivisionLocation: Lyndhurst, OhioOwner: Wald and Fisher, LLCConstruction Manager: Marous BrothersConstructionStart: November 2004Completion: January 2005Scope of work: Excavation and haul off of 40,000cubic yards of dirt from site.

Summerwood SubdivisionLocation: Concord, OhioOwner: 20th Century ConstructionStart: September 2004 Completion: January 2005 Scope of work: Strip and stockpile 15,500 cubicyards of topsoil, install 4,400 LF of waterline,install 5,390 LF of storm sewer and install 5,000LF of sanitary.

Park Forge DemolitionLocation: Cleveland, Ohio Owner/ Construction Manager: Park OhioStart: November 2004Completion: February 2005Scope of work: Demolition of the abandoned ParkForge Foundry to the existing grade, removal of theboiler house, and the main forge/press buildings.

C-5 167th West Virginia Air NationalGuardLocation: Martinsburg, West VirginiaOwner: West Virginia Air National GuardConstruction Manager: Clark Construction Start: November 2004Completion: November 2005Scope of work: Mass earthwork including rockremoval and fill placement, blasting of 170,000cubic yards of soil and rock, installation ofwaterline, deep sanitary sewer and storm sewer,demolition of existing air traffic control tower withthe removal of asbestos, and installation of box culvert.

N e w P r o j e c t s

Architectural rendering by Michael Augoustidis Architects

Larry Hrovat, Project Manager

In August, Infinity Construction Company awarded Independence Excavatingthe contract for Phase 1 Demolition and 1A Sitework for the Rockport Squaretown home project in Lakewood, Ohio. Rockport Square is a four-acreresidential development being undertaken by Rysar Properties ofCleveland, Ohio. Phase 1 of the project involves the construction ofseventeen town homes on Detroit Avenue, three blocks west of W. 117thStreet. Our scope of work includes demolition of an existing autodealership, shoring, mass excavation for town home basements, removalof petroleum contaminated soils, site utilities, site paving, and sidewalks.

In addition to Rysar Properties and Infinity Construction, we are alsoworking with Glenn Moenich of Glenncoa, L.L.C., the construction

consultant on the project. Subcontractors include B & B Wrecking, OglesbyConstruction, Carron Asphalt Paving, and McKinney Drilling. Phase 1Asitework and utilities are to be completed this year and paving will becompleted in the spring of 2005.

ROCKPORT SQUARE - PHASE 1 DEMOLITION AND 1A SITEWORK

C r u s h i n g P r o j e c t s

7

DiGeronimo Companies Join With Boy Scouts – Will You Help Us?

ALLEGA RECYCLED MATERIALSValley View, Ohio50,000 tons of #1’s and #2’s and #304 base material

ALLIED CORP. / SHELLY CO.Cleveland, Ohio50,000 tons of asphalt crushing into 1/2” minus RAPmaterial

CLEVELAND FACILITYCleveland, Ohio50,000 tons of ODOT #304 base material

FORT MYERS FACILITYFt. Myers, Florida50,000 tons of 2” minus base material

DIGERONIMO AGGREGATES, LLCIndependence, Ohio300,000 tons of 2” minus shale crushing

JACKSONVILLE FACILITYJacksonville, Florida50,000 tons of 2” minus base material

MOUNTAIN STATE CONTRACTORSArden, North Carolina115,000 tons of sandstone crushing into 2” minusbase material

KENMORE CONSTRUCTION CO.Bedford Hts., Ohio30,000 tons of asphalt crushing into 1/2” minus RAP material

LAKELAND FACILITYLakeland, Florida50,000 tons of 2” minus base material

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENTCape Coral, Florida200,000 tons of 2” minus base material

ORLANDO FACILITYOrlando, Florida200,000 tons of stone and base material

STEIN/I.S.G. SLAG CRUSHINGISG Mill, Cleveland, Ohio600,000 tons of slag crushed into #57, #8 and #10stone

TAMPA FACILITYTampa, Florida30,000 tons of 2” minus base material

WALSH CONSTRUCTIONMifflin County, Pennsylvania975,000 tons of sandstone crushing into various sizebase materials

WESTINGHOUSE PLANT DEMOLITIONTampa, Florida90,000 tons of 2” minus base material

Many adults have had the experience of being a boy scout. Tony DiGeronimo has renewed his association as a long-agoCub Scout to joining the executive board of the GreaterCleveland Council. “Many things have changed in thisworld over my last 40 years, but the Scouts have kepttheir focus on God, country, and morality” says Tony .

The Scouts need help with several constructionundertakings, especially at their 1,000 acre camp site,Beaumont, in Ashtabula. Independence Excavating will behelping with their roadway and parking and Precision will be assisting with a few renovations projects.

We invite our employees, vendors, and clients to participatewith our activities either through donating time, money, or materials.

We hope to make equipment available at no charge for use atBeaumont during the winter months if operators wish to donate

their time and expertise.Please contact any DiGeronimo family member if you

wish to participate in this worthwhile mission.

Scout OathOn my honor, I will do my bestTo do my duty to God and my country;And to obey the Scout Law;To help other people at all times;To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

Senator Voinovich paid a visit to Independence Excavating’s EmoryWoods project in Warrensville Hts. He stressed the importance of gettinga new, maximum-funded highway bill passed in Congress.

From left to right: Project Superintendent Mike Rider, Local 18 BusinessManager/IUOE President Pat Sink, Steve Slansky, Jeff Brewster (inloader), Senator Voinovich, Matt Fuentes, Mike Myers, Bill McDonaldand Dick Miller.

Senator Voinovich Visits Emory Woods

© Declaration of Independence2005 Independence Excavating Inc.

Editor: Stacey Bernas

Photos taken by: Dan Milner PhotographyStacey Bernas, Independence ExcavatingVic DiGeronimo, Independence ExcavatingTom Steblinski, Independence Excavating

Comments and suggestions can be submitted by letter to:

Independence Excavating Inc.5720 Schaaf RoadIndependence, Ohio 44131www.indexc.comAn equal opportunity employer

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!Rich DiGeronimoAs the Legislative Committee Chairman of the Construction EmployersAssociation, I would like to thank the following employees for contributing tothe Construction Employers PAC fund. With their support, we raised over$13,000 of our $25,000 goal for 2004. Thanks for being on the “team.” We willcontinue to work with legislators on issues that affect our industry.Charles BegueDavid BevanRyan BrownAlex CalarcoRoger CarpenterBrian ChalmersTheodore ChuhaRonald CostantinoDavid Del RegnoRichard DiGeronimoCathy FoxJustin FoxMatthew FuentesPaul Giulitto

John GolishDavid GoodyearRoger HerclLawrence HrovatMallory JacksonLarry JuddJames KyerVince LasalviaEdward Lynch Jr.Jeremy MarsalisJason MattyWilliam McDonaldRichard MillerMichael Myers

Thomas NixonJames O'MalleyBruce PattersonScott PattersonVito PaviaAnthony PyanowskiEarl ReedJim ReevesMichael RiderRodgersKaren SalmenRichard SchiefersteinRobert SchnurMichael Schumaker

Steve SelfMark ShaughnessyWilliam ShondelmyerSteven SlanskyTommy ThompsonTerry TomaskoCraig WebbEdward WilkKevin WoolhouseRonald ZarenThomas Zuchowski

“Your teams of Larry Hrovat andRick Robertson with the Abram

Creek Project, and Jay Kellogg withSMiRF and South 40 Demolition,have set a high standard for timelydelivery and quality construction.”

Note: On October 29, 2004, ourNASA/SMiRF project was awardedrunner-up in the 2004 AGC of OhioBuild Ohio Award Program in thecategory of Industrial/Heavy.

Flying High with

Continental Airlines

ENR – Top 600The DiGeronimo family is pleased toannounce that Independence Excavating,Inc. ranked 5th in Excavation/Foundationand Precision Environmental Co. ranked6th in Asbestos Abatement in theEngineering News Record - Top 600 SpecialtyContractors issue.

We’d like to thank our dedicatedworkforce and loyal clients who havecontributed to our success.

‘05 ANNIVERSARIESJANUARY1 GREGORY & SUSAN FOTH22 WILLIAM & VALERIE SHONDELMYER24 DAVID & MARY BRONZA29 DON & STEPHANIE MAHNKE

FEBRUARY2 KIM & SCOTT SHAFFER3 RICHARD & LISA DEAN9 JAY & MELISSA KELLOGG10 THOMAS & ADA JANOSIK13 RAGS & LOIS STALLARD16 PASQUALE & MARIE CICCONE18 XAVIER & DEBBIE FRANKS18 ROBERT & BERNADETTE KUZMA19 ANTHONY & STEPHANIE CALABRESE19 ROB & J.J. DIGERONIMO

MARCH3 RANDY & KELLY COOPER4 BEVERLY & ROBERT MIESZKOWSKI6 SHANE & PEGGY SHOEMAKER20 JOSEPH & EMILY BANCO23 EDWARD & PAMELA VIZDOS

APRIL1 JACK & PATRICIA HELBIG7 DAVE & KRIS BEVAN7 VINCE & JENNIFER ZEIGLER8 STEVE & JUDY MAYNARD9 JOSEPH & VIVIAN MCNAMEE11 FLOYD & VIRGINA RYBICKI12 PAUL & REBECCA HAZEL18 DAVE & GAIL STATEN18 JIM & TRICIA KROSKY19 JAMES & BARBARA KRAMER24 RONALD & NANCY ZAREN30 JOSEPH & JAYNE MAKSIN

29 JEFFREY PARIS30 ANTHONY CALABRESE30 CLAUDE PEDERSON31 JEFFREY KRIEBEL31 DAVID BENAK

APRIL 2 MARK KONTRA5 RANDY COOPER6 CHARLES ELLIOTT6 VINCENT DIMASCIO6 DAN LEWIS8 LARRY HROVAT9 DAVID GOODYEAR9 JOHN ZUCHINSKI9 TED HOWARD10 SEBASTIANO COSTANZO15 MICHAEL MYERS19 ARTHUR WILLIAMS19 JEFFREY LESLIE22 DIRK CALES22 CHUCK GILLOMBARDO23 CHRIS BOWERS23 DERNA LEDDON25 DANIEL PARKS27 LUIS BRANCO27 BEVERLY RAYMOND30 LISA WOODARD

JANUARY2 RUSSELL BROGAN3 JAMES VAN DUZEN3 MICHAEL RIZZO3 DENNIS SWANSON6 WILLIAM MCCOY, JR7 DONALD BARROWS8 STEVE SLANSKY8 JEFF SPECK9 ROBERT KLINK9 TERRY KONTRA9 MARK CERNY11 NICHOLAS KORTOWICH13 JOHN PERCUN13 VINCE ZEIGLER14 RAGS STALLARD14 BILL BEHRENS14 ED BUTLER17 JOHN ALBRECHT17 TONY PAOLUCCI18 RICK ROBERTSON20 RICHARD DEAN22 GEORGE BIHUN23 JAMES KRAMER23 DENNIS PALMER24 MAURICE WILSON25 JEFFREY BREWSTER29 JOSH WATSON31 NORMAN SILVER

FEBRUARY1 LAWRENCE MALONE1 THOMAS STAMP3 EDWARD ZAMISKA5 STEVE MAYNARD8 DENNIS LASALVIA9 JOHN BECKMAN11 MICHELLE MAHON13 LARRY JUDD13 ARNOLD VAN PELT14 XAVIER FRANKS17 BRIAN SCOTT HENRY18 CHUCK BEGUE

19 JOSEPH MCNAMEE19 STEVE SELF II22 HARRY TUSTIN22 ANDREW ROBERTSON23 LISA DIGERONIMO25 JAMES WISNIEWSKI, JR25 STEVEN GOSSELIN26 PAUL HAZEL27 TERRY TOMASKO27 KIM ZAMISKA-SHAFFER28 NETHANEL JUDY29 DANIEL PAVELECKY29 JOHNNIE SARANEY

MARCH1 VINCE LASALVIA2 VITO PAVIA2 NANCY DIGERONIMO2 DAWN NOVAK3 JOHN GOLISH5 JEFF RUDOLPH5 RON TADAJ5 VIC DIGERONIMO, SR.6 WILLIAM CARUSO8 DONALD SPENCER8 JUSTIN KING9 BEVERLY MIESZKOWSKI10 NICK ANGERSOLA11 RICK EVANS11 THOMAS BARNES12 NICK DIFILIPPO14 ROY HAWKINS15 SHANNON MURPHY15 WILLIAM MCDONALD16 ARTHUR TARELLARI21 ROBERT MURPHY22 ROCKY SIXTA23 ANDREW FETZER23 BRIAN YOUNG25 DOUGLAS BRYANT26 JOHN YADLOSKY27 TODD MOYER29 MARTHA HAGEN

‘05 BIRTHDAYS