One of the largest fireworks suppliers in the world has a direct connection to the New River Valley.
Fireworks by Grucci is an American fireworks company headquartered on New York’s Long Isalnd and has been a family-run business since 1850. The company’s main fireworks office and operations are in New York with a manufacturing and government work factory in Radford.
According to the , an industry trade group, Fireworks by Grucci is “one of the nation’s premier pyrotechnics firms.” It’s also one of the world’s largest.
Phil Grucci is the company’s CEO and said the family run business will do as many as 65 shows, including one in Radford, this Fourth of July.
The company traces its roots to Italy, where Angelo Lanzetta was an apprentice to a family-run fireworks company. He was the great-great-grandfather of Felix Grucci Sr., after whom the company was named.
The company moved to New York and continued to develop with such innovations as the stringless shell, which improved fireworks safety by eliminating burning . The company also developed mock tests for the . The Grucci family received accolades for its performance on the in Boston during the 1975 bicentennial celebration, its first major performance outside of the New York metropolitan area.
In 1979, the Grucci’s became the first American family to win the Gold Medal for the United States at the annual International Fireworks Competition, an event revered by the fireworks industry as the most prestigious competition in the world. This also earned the family their nickname, «America›s First Family of Fireworks.”
In 1983, disaster struck when the company’s Bellport, New York plant exploded. Two family members, including Phil Grucci’s father, was killed in the incident.
Phil Grucci, who is the sixth generation of Grucci, admitted there were thoughts of not reopening. But after a family meeting around his grandmother’s kitchen table, they agreed they should rebuild and continue in business.
It was in 1997 Grucci decided to expand its operations into southwest Virginia. The company produces simulated explosives for the military at the Radford Army Ammunition.
Grucci said the Radford site is very important to the company’s overall business future.
The 1,500-acre facility has 180 employees with 30 working on fireworks. Grucci said the local operation is important to his company. Additional items are stored in a second facility in Dubin.
The company has adapted to the use of new technology, including the use of computers to electronically fire the shells. It also started using drones to produce some shows.
“We recognized the importance of including drones, while not replacing the traditional fireworks show,” Grucci said.
The company will produce in excess of 240 shows this year including some in the Middle East.
“We are proud of the fact that we have done fireworks for the opening of almost every hotel on the Las Vegas strip,” Grucci said.
The list is long and impressive. Fireworks by Grucci has produced fireworks displays for various and international events, including:
Seven consecutive U.S. Presidential inaugurations beginning with ; Centennial (1986); Centennial; in , , , , and more; in , , , and , ; Dubai 2014 fireworks display, a Guinness world record. Including 479,651 shells fired in just six minutes on New Year’s Eve, at a rate of almost 80K shells per minute and 1,332 fireworks per second; ’s , Fourth of July 2019 event, used Grucci fireworks; Donald Trump’s ; and the .
Phil’s son runs the Radford operation and has moved to the area. The company will produce and manage the show the public will experience Friday night, July 3, at Radford’s Bisset Park.
Phil Grucci is optimistic about the company’s future, which is looking at ways to become more environmentally friendly. “
We want to reduce the carbon footprint and eliminate more of the debris that falls to the ground after being shot off,” he said.
His final statement was to wish everyone a safe Fourth of July and remember to leave fireworks to the professionals.