History
The company traces its pyrotechnic roots to Bari, Italy, where Angelo Lanzetta reportedly was an apprentice to an Italian fireworks family. Lanzetta was the great-great-grandfather of Felix Grucci Sr., after which the company was named.
Grucci Sr. continued to develop the company with such innovations as the stringless shell, which improved fireworks safety by eliminating burning fallout. The company also developed mock atomic bomb tests for the Department of Defense. The Grucci family received accolades for its performance on the Charles River in Boston during the 1976 bicentennial celebration, its first major performance out of the New York tri-state area.
In 1979, the Gruccis became the first American family to win the Gold Medal for the United States at the annual Monte Carlo 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," from the New York press.
In 1983, disaster struck the company when an explosion at the company's factory in Bellport, New York killed two family members and heavily damaged dozens of nearby homes. As a result, the company moved its operations from Bellport to Yaphank, New York, a more secluded area.
Read more about this topic: Fireworks By Grucci
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