CEO, President Cold Mix Manufacturing
GRAD PROFILE
DARIO AMICUCCI ’01
uses plant-based solvents in the place of
The product emits zero VOCs
diesel and other carcinogens that pose a
(volatile organic compounds) and is now
threat to the environment. Almost 25
using more than 50 percent recycled
combinations of plant solvents were
asphalt product in the mix. Cold Mix
tested before the “right formula” was
recently opened a larger facility in Patter-
produced in 2007. Then the real test
son, N.Y., close to I-84, which will service
To most, hitting a pothole is a low light
came from contractors themselves.
the increasing demand in the Northeast.
of the day. To Dario Amicucci ’01, it’s an
Some of them knew they were given dif-
Amicucci lives in Armonk, N.Y., with his
opportunity to expand an already boom-
ferent cold asphalt to try in various
wife, Jennifer, and their three children.
ing business.
applications, but others were given
By Stephen P. Schmidt
Amicucci serves as the CEO and president of Cold Mix Manufacturing, a
GreenPatch blindly. “We started receiving calls from the
Reflecting on his days at Quinnipiac, he remembers Dale Jasinski, associate professor of management, commenting
Flushing, N.Y.-based operation that has
contractors in the blind test. They said,
that with a brand product, an entrepre-
blazed a trail with GreenPatch®, an eco-
‘What did you guys do to the mix? ...
neur should strive to be “the Rollerblade
friendly alternative to traditional cold
Our guys aren’t ready to pass out. There
of inline skates or the Kleenex of facial
asphalt mix for pothole repair. The diffi-
are no odors coming off the material and
tissues.”
cult winter the Northeast just experi-
the performance seemed to improve a
enced was good for business.
lot.’ Right then, we knew we had some-
of the eco-friendly cold asphalt prod-
thing,” said Amicucci.
ucts,” he said.
The company produces 1,500 tons a
“For us, it would be the GreenPatch
week and ships 35,000 bags of GreenPatch per month in the winter. In 2010, it averaged 750 tons a week and 30,000 bags per month. The Cold Mix client list includes the New York City Department of Transportation, which ordered 5,000 tons in 2008 and has refilled that order several times over. Currently it has contracts with transportation departments and major utility companies across the Northeast. In addition, GreenPatch is available at Home Depot in the tristate area and Maryland. “We knew we were onto something, but we didn’t think it was going to grow this quickly,” said Amicucci. After earning his management QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS / SPRING 2011
degree, Amicucci went to work for his family’s asphalt plant in Mount Vernon, N.Y., before leaving in 2006 to start Cold Mix. He also has served as the plant operations manager at Cofire Industries in Flushing, N.Y., since 2005, advancing the company’s business to a $6 million enterprise as the main production facility for GreenPatch. Amicucci teamed with two others from his family’s Mount Vernon plant to create GreenPatch. Unlike traditional cold asphalt mixes, GreenPatch
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