In 1955, Frank Cavaliere started a small excavating business with a new Oliver tractor equipped with a Pippin backhoe and a front loader bucket. Shortly thereafter, he invited Tony Portanova to join the business, and together they formed C & P Excavating Contractors, Inc. A new contracting business was born.
Dominick Cavaliere, Frank’s younger brother, purchased a third share of the excavating business in 1957 while working part time after school. Upon his graduation 1959, he joined the firm full time.
In those early years, C & P Excavating Contractors specialized in digging additions, foundations, and sewer and water lines. As business increased, more equipment was purchased, including a John Deere backhoe, a dump truck, and pick-up truck.
During the 1960s, C & P Excavating Contractors was the primary contractor for Southern New England Telephone Company, Northeast Utilities (gas and electric divisions), and the Stamford Water Company.
The partners also worked for major building contractors on such projects as Caldors on Summer Street in Stamford, CT (now the Burlington Coat Factory), the Army Corps of Engineers Stamford (CT) Hurricane Barrier, Harbor Power Station on Manresa Island in Norwalk, CT and New Canaan (CT) High School.
Throughout the 1960s, the company diversified by purchasing real estate in the Stamford, CT, area, and the partners took on distinctive roles. Dominick Cavaliere managed estimations, sales, and customer service. Tony Portanova served as field coordinator. And Frank Cavaliere handled all real estate for the company, including property purchases, planning and building, and leasing and selling of buildings and condos developed by C&P Excavating Contractors.
By the 1970s, under the direction of the three partners, C & P Excavating Contractors had grown into a well-respected company with a history of over 25 years of excellent service. The three partners had two sons each, and during those years, the six young men worked for their fathers’ business in the summers, and eventually joined the firm full time.
In 1988, Frank, Sr. and Dominick, Sr. purchased Tony Portanova’s share of the company.
In 1989, a North East Utilities Electric Co. job was awarded to C & P Excavating Contractors, which included replacement of 46 buried splice boxes with 46 new precast concrete manholes in Greenwich, CT. That same year, North East Utilities Electric Co. once again turned to C & P Excavating Contractors; this next job entailed installing a transmission line in Darien, CT, and included a 12-conduit duct bank encased in concrete with manholes. The contract also called for milling and paving for the final road restoration.
At the close of 1989, C & P Excavating Contractors seized another opportunity for expansion and purchased a new Wirtgen milling machine.
In 1994, a used half-lane milling machine was purchased after C & P Excavating Contractors was awarded the annual contract for the Town of Greenwich (CT) to mill its asphalt roads. The work included trucking of milled material, trimming of manholes and curb boxes, sweeping, and traffic control in the work area. After a successful introduction to this larger scale milling work, a new half-lane Wirtgen Milling machine was purchased.
Upon Frank Sr.’s retirement from the business in 1991, Dominick, Sr. purchased his brother’s share and became sole owner of C & P Excavating Contractors, with his sons, Louis and Dominick, Jr. (DJ), and daughter, Maria, working by his side.
Over the next several years, C & P Excavation Contractor’s milling work included the milling of I-95 in Stamford, Darien, Norwalk, Westport, Bridgeport, New Haven, and Branford, CT. The business also expanded further into New England by milling local roads in major cities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
In 1996, C & P Excavating Contractors changed its name to Cavaliere Industries, Inc. as the business further expanded and became more involved in asphalt milling as well as utility excavation, site work, equipment rental, I-95 video incident management camera system, and Level (3) Communications excavation for the installation of fiber optic conduit (this job also included milling and paving of over 40 miles of roads.
After Dominick Cavaliere, Sr.’s retirement on January 1, 2004, he left the business to his two sons, Louis Cavaliere and Dominick Cavaliere, Jr. (DJ).
Louis and DJ Cavaliere have developed and enhanced the family business with their expert knowledge. While Cavaliere Industries is still involved in all areas of excavation, the business is also well respected for the partners’ expertise in reclaiming and asphalt paving. And with the purchase of new and updated equipment, Cavaliere Industries meets the growing and diverse needs of its customers.
In 2004, Cavaliere Industries moved into a new state-of-the-art office and repair facility. The new building boasts 1,500 square feet of office space and a three-bay repair garage with indoor wash bay. The parts and storage area is 5,000 square feet, housing spare parts and smaller tools and equipment.
For the 2006 construction season, Cavaliere Industries added a second JD 50 mini excavator, a new topsoil screener, and a Lee Boy 8500 asphalt paver to meet the requests of customers for expanded services.
In early 2007, Cavaliere Industries proudly introduced C.O.R. (Cavaliere Onsite Recycling). C.O.R. has the capability to crush and recycle rock, concrete, asphalt, block, and brick into a useable ¾” minus product. For more information, please visit www.rubblemaster.com.
