Restorations Over Generations
Mariani & Richards, Inc. celebrates a 70-year legacy
Seventy years ago, a man named Ed Mariani and his wife, Josephine, founded a masonry restoration and waterproofing company as a way to support themselves and their two young daughters, Charlotte and Andrea. At first, Ed began by bidding and taking on jobs for residences, hospitals and churches, including the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Meanwhile, Josephine handled the paperwork and accounting. A compassionate but savvy businesswoman, Josephine learned what she knew from her father, who was a successful businessman in the coal industry.
Over 40 years, Ed and Josephine raised their family and built a strong company that expanded its services and became known for preserving and restoring some of the most significant and historic buildings in Pittsburgh.
A Family Bond
As Charlotte and Andrea grew up and married, they stayed close to their parents and the family business. In 1988, after several years in the company, Andrea’s husband, Ron Freeborough, became president of the company, and his father-in-law, Ed, transitioned to chairman of the board. Andrea took over her mother’s mantle as the company’s corporate secretary, with sister Charlotte acting as part owner of the business.
Over the years, the closeness of the Mariani family bond extended to the next generation. Charlotte and her husband, Lino, had a son named Guy Amatangelo, who adored his grandfather Ed, and would go to him regularly for advice.
“He was the smartest guy I ever knew,” Guy says. “He was my mentor in every way possible; we talked every day and we talked about everything—business, money, life, love, family. There wasn’t any topic we didn’t discuss.”
Using his grandfather as a sounding board, Guy charted out a career in law. He moved to Miami, Florida, to study, and then came back to Pittsburgh to practice as a criminal trial attorney. Guy lived close to Ed and Josephine and would see Ed on a nearly daily basis, up until the time that his grandfather passed away.
Carrying On A Legacy
In 2014, the family began discussing selling the business. Ron was nearly ready to retire and there was no clear successor to lead in his absence. Guy, realizing that his grandparents’ legacy was in peril, opted to leave the career that he’d built in law to join the company. By 2017, Guy was President and CEO of Mariani & Richards, Inc.
“When the potential sale of the business came into fruition, I wasn’t sure that this was what I wanted to do, but I soon realized that this is exactly where I always belonged,” Guy says.
Transitioning the Team
These days, Mariani & Richards, Inc. has a full-time staff of eight in the office who have formed a tremendous camaraderie and bond. A typical day consists of the group collaborating on multiple facets of the business, be it the bidding process, the project management process and oversight of projects on-site, or the review processes needed to ensure profitability and sustainability in an increasingly competitive market.
The current management team has been solidified over the past four years. Guy hand-selected his team from the pool of people who already worked for the business for years in the field. “I felt that the people ideally suited to the jobs that we needed already worked here, just in a different capacity,” he says. “I wanted them to be people I knew and trusted.”
Guy acknowledges how challenging it can be to transition from a career in the field to one in an office, where his team is required not only to price jobs accurately but also maintain oversight of the projects throughout their progress. These team members were also expected to adapt to the culture of working in an office and having to deal directly with clients and property owners, as opposed to working in the field and dealing mostly with their own colleagues.
A Different Lens
Despite these challenges, Guy says that each team member he’s promoted into an office position has exceeded his expectations. His management team now includes Vice President Tom Schmidt; Chris Smith, Vice President of Commercial Waterproofing; Anthony Ficarri, who leads the stonemasonry division; Delbert Cage, who leads the brick division; and Joe Krist, who leads the joint sealant division. The tight-knit team spends time together socially, and after years of knowing each other, they have fostered a strong environment of trust. “These people have consistently made me look good,” Guy says.
In the office and the field, the business has a team that is made up of experts in stone masonry, brick masonry, masonry cleaning and pointing, and commercial waterproofing. In the busy season each year, the business’ field operation can consist of up to 80 to100 employees. Each individual is highly specialized, but together as a unit the combined knowledge allows the team as a whole to see a project through a different lens than their competitors.
Benefit of Long-term Relationships
Mariani & Richards, Inc. enjoys long relationships with their clients, some which have lasted over 50 years. The company focuses on building long-term relationships with private and commercial property owners and municipalities, working to earn their clients’ trust year after year.
While sisters Andrea and Charlotte still are the majority shareholders of the company, Guy only has one remaining family member actively working with him in the daily operations of the business, his cousin Angela Borris. Angela is the corporate secretary, a job she took over from her mother, one passed down from her grandmother, Josephine.
Together, Guy and Angela share a particularly special bond. They are two people who both value and admire their grandparents’ legacy, and who have consciously decided to honor it through their daily work.