Now 72, the elder Mike is essentially retired and spends much of his time at a summer home in Georgia. The day-to-day operations are now managed by the two Finelli sons — Frank and Angelo — as well as Jim Korosec, who serves as vice president of design development. It is Mike’s high business ethics and passion for metalwork that still guide the company today. An Italian immigrant, Mike arrived in the U.S. in 1945, with 10 cents in his pocket. He was only 16 at the time, and immediately began searching for work. His career began by working for an uncle in Washington, D.C., and he eventually ended up at a Cleveland steel mill. Later, he joined a local ornamental firm. In 1961, Mike’s destiny took a major twist. He was working for $1.80 an hour at the time and asked for a nickel raise. The raise showed up on his paycheck for a couple of weeks, but then one day he noticed he was back at his old rate. When he questioned his boss, the man replied,
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A craftsman hand brushes primer around all joints. Such attention to detail has resulted in zero callbacks for rust or paint failure.
“I can’t afford to pay you that.” After that incident, Mike decided to venture on his own. “I think a lot about the way my dad is goes back to the struggle he had to even get to this country,” Frank says. “I think that struggle made him
ready for almost anything.” Even up until the early 1990s, Finelli Ornamental still relied on storm doors and other smaller, miscellaneous products for much of its revenue. But then one day the firm shifted gears and began concentrating on the high-end residential market. The turning point, according to Frank, was February 28, 1992 when they won a major contract for a $1.5 million villa. Producing the $90,000 railing for the home was scary but it gave the staff valuable experience for handling larger jobs. “We learned how to handle that type of situation, that kind of pressure, and that kind of expectation,” Frank says. From there, the company made other bold moves, such as buying a $2,000 magazine ad. “We were saying ‘wow, is this ludicrous or what?’” The investment in advertising has been a success for Finelli Ornamental, which now specializes in highend railings, gates, and fencing. And overall, the company’s greater commitment to image and visibility is paying off. In recent years,
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FABRICATOR September-October 2001