Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/473140
ness. In the late 1960s, his father opened up a paint and decorating store and supplemented the busi- ness by buying and remodeling homes and building new ones. Facciobene says he learned valu- able lessons working in that paint store. "We never missed work, we never missed school, we never missed dinner and we never missed church," he says about his child- hood. "My father always joked that we had plenty of time to do other things as long as it was on Sunday afternoon, after church." He graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in econom- ics. While in school, he worked for various contractors, and after graduation he worked three jobs to save up enough money to go out on his own. When he started DFI in 1987, the company was a general contractor doing primarily concrete and masonry work. Being such, the fi rst machines the company were a Massey Ferguson 139 with a box blade, a Class 6 dump truck and various concrete equipment. "Then I quickly realized I had nothing to load the dump truck with so I bought a Bobcat," Facciobene says. "The biggest lesson I learned was don't get a machine that you think will be too small," he says. "My weapon of choice for an all-around machine was a rubber tire backhoe. Skid steers have been popular for me on the vertical side. And I don't know how I ever survived without a full sized dump truck." He spent the fi rst 8 or 10 years without a mechanic, choosing instead to keep all the machines running himself with the help of his employees. "That was a huge chal- lenge keeping all of that running. I was always a gear head, but when I had grown to four or fi ve pick- ups that's when I decided to hire a mechanic." Though the company experi- enced a rough stretch in the early 90s, things got going again in 1994 March 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com 64 contractor of the year | continued A jobsite in Palm Bay full of Caterpillar equipment. It's a far cry from where Facciobene began. He started the company with a Massey Ferguson 139 tractor with a box blade, a Class 6 dump truck and various pieces of concrete equipment.