Last month, Croci North America, Fort Myers, FL, broke ground on a new site for a proposed $15 million building. At 120,000 square feet, the new facility will more than double the company’s existing buildings of 21,000 and 30,000 square feet.

“We don’t want to make a mistake and have no room to expand,” said Gil Morzaniga, CEO. “We are building now because all the information we have says the second half of this year things are going to start moving, and business will be better next year. We want to be ready for the future. We hope the timing is right because we are going to be ready when the economy is good again. This is the best time to expand, while things are slow,” he said.
Croci North America manufactures aluminum extruded and foam filled slats, aluminum hoods and parts for rolling shutters and accordion shutters. It also produces colonial and Bahama shutters, all Miami-Dade, Florida Building Code and Texas Dept. of Insurance approved.

Croci serves coastal customers in California, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and up the East Coast to New Jersey. It also sells products in Canada, where the major concern is insulation and saving energy. In Seattle, WA, the company sells energy-saving and security products throughout the Northwest and into Alaska.
Croci’s shutters are not only for use as hurricane protection. They are used for security and room darkening, too. One of the company’s largest customers sells security shutters and shade and energy-saving shutters in Arizona.

“We don’t want to only be hurricane-related,” Morzaniga said. “That is not what we want. In the new building, we will be able to add new products: sun protection products like awnings, screens, etc., that we can sell to Canada, California and the New York area.”

GROWTH SPURTS
The international Croci Group has its headquarters just south of Bologna, Italy, with another division farther south. Croci Group also has companies in France, Turkey, Madagascar, Australia, Guadalupe and Guyana.

It built its reputation manufacturing storm-proof shutters in the United States in the wake of Hurricane Andrew in 1993. “We were already working with people here when Andrew hit in Miami,” Morzaniga said. “Our customers said if we would come here, they could more easily work with us. The largest market for roll-up shutters is here.”

While the industry was strong following Hurricane Andrew, things slowed considerably after September 11, 2001. Then Hurricane Charley came along and things started to boom. “We didn’t have time to expand,” said Morzaniga. That boom increased Croci’s business 60 percent by mid-2003.

DEMAND, DIVERSIFICATION, GROWTH
Morzaniga said the company’s success is based on getting up early, working hard all day and leaving late. It’s also built on the philosophy that although it’s an Italian company, Morzaniga has the freedom to do what is good for the business in American markets. The company’s growth, then, is based on demand and that allows for diversification in products offered. “That, creates a huge potential for growth,” Morzaniga said.

Looking ahead, he says Croci North America has another target market in its sights: working directly with architects and builders.