By Liz Leamy
Over the past five-plus decades, the Finocchio Brothers Inc. waste management and refuse collecting company has been a main fixture operation in Greenwich, as well as throughout the Fairfield and Westchester County areas and with good reason.
On almost any given day, one of the Finocchio Brothers’ many white state-of-the-art garbage trucks that are branded with the illustrious signature logo, ‘we nose our business’ can be spotted around local roads as its drivers are in the midst of handling their waste management responsibilities with the care, aptitude and ease of true gold-star professionals.
Along with providing exceptional waste management services, the Finocchio Brothers operation, whose headquarters is located at 49 Liberty Place in Stamford, is known for all of the wonderful and longtime personal relationships they have with their extensive list of residential and business clients.
“They’re a great organization in every respect. Everyone is really nice and accommodating and they are always easy to reach if you ever have any questions,” said Gloria Coe Sprigg, a longtime Greenwich resident who is an award-winning teacher at Hamilton Avenue Elementary School in town and also President of the Ettl Park Townhouse Complex Association in Glenville that has been working with Finocchio Brothers Inc. for many years. “It’s also nice that they are a family-run business who are such a big part of the community here in Greenwich.”
Ever since it was first started in 1970, the Finocchio Brothers Inc. operation has been all about providing its customers with dependable and optimal service for their customers, that is for certain.
“They always are there to help and go the extra mile,” said Sprigg. “In the 17 years I’ve worked with them, they’ve been great. The drivers are friendly and have always done a terrific job, while any interaction I’ve had with anyone from the office has been the same. It’s also nice that it’s a family-run organization that is so connected with so many people and businesses in the community.”
Certainly, it’s easy to see why Finocchio Brothers Inc. has soared to such great heights in terms of its success over the years.
Tommy Finocchio, the organization’s Chief Executive Officer, has dedicated most of his life to build the company, of which he took over as its sole owner in 1980, building it, along with his longtime dedicated staff, into one of the biggest waste management companies in Greenwich and the Westchester and Fairfield County areas over the years.
Initially, Finocchio had first started the business as the result of a handshake he had with his longtime mentor and friend, Ben Miceli, who at that point, had sold him his company’s routes in Byram and Cos Cob.
“Ben was a good friend and still is. We shook hands and I promised I would follow through with his generosity,” said Finocchio, who had also worked for Miceli, as well as for Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo’s father, the late Alfred Francis Camillo Sr., with their waste management businesses in town before embarking on his own. “I started with one truck that I would start driving every morning at 3am and work through midday. I worked constantly and still do.”
After this game-changing meeting with Miceli, Finocchio put the pedal to the metal and began working around the clock almost every day of the week picking up trash in his one garbage truck while at the same time, also taking care of all things business related.
Within a few years, Finocchio, who also served as a U.S. Army Special Weapons Specialist from 1968 to 1970 receiving an Honorable Discharge, started to emerge as one of the biggest names in local waste management as his customer base began to grow at an exponential rate.
“By the 1980s, things were growing with the business. We began to get more trucks and drivers and we were doing a lot of routes in town and around the area,” said Finocchio, who lives in Rye Brook, New York. “It was a lot of work just like it is now, but always worth it all.”
From that point, Finocchio’s business only continued to grow at the same rate, attracting scores of clients and building its reputation as one of the most reliable and best waste management companies in Greenwich and the surrounding Westchester and Fairfield County areas.
For Finocchio, however, the primary goal has always been all about making sure all of his clients are taken care of in optimal fashion.
“It’s all about doing the best we can for everyone,” said Finocchio. “You have to do whatever you can do to make sure the customers are taken care of and all bases are covered. It’s the only way.”
Today, the Finocchio Brothers operation continues its legacy of high energy and productivity as its headquarters being as hopping and busy as ever.
On a typical Wednesday morning, one of its dozens of garbage trucks can be seen pulling in an out of its entryway, as its dedicated office team members are running around handling an array of different duties such as managing the organization’s daily dispatching, talking on the phone with clients and handling and managing one of the many other aspects of this bustling operation.
“It’s always busy here and we always try to do whatever we can to make sure the clients are always taken care of,” said Stefanie Bueti, Finocchio Brothers Inc. Sales Associate. “This is an amazing place with amazing people.”
Certainly, the high energy and unity among everyone involved with this organization seems to be much of the key for its success.
“We like to keep everything moving all the time. You’ve got to do the job and always go above and beyond,” said Finocchio. “That’s what we’re about.”
His 21 year-old son, Cole, who is also one of the company’s figureheads and who has pretty much grown up as part of the operation, agreed.
“I’ve grown up watching my father do everything he can to build this business in order to provide the best service for everyone. He really cares and that’s what we are all about,” said Cole Finocchio, Project Manager of Finocchio Brothers Inc. “He started bringing me to work when I was four years old and this is like another home for me. I always wanted to do this and I love everything about being here.”
Others felt similar sentiments.
“We’re all here to make sure every part of the business is handled in the best way possible,” said Bueti. “I’m out all the time visiting clients and connecting with them to make sure every base is covered. We’re all about having strong and meaningful relationships our clients, which is everything.”
Members of the Finocchio Brothers Inc. team, meanwhile, also like to regularly socialize with one other, as they go out for weekly dinners and also plan designated game nights, which further strengthens the bonds within the organization.
“I think the heart of everyone here matches their work ethic,” said Bueti. “It’s awesome.”
At the same time, it is also impressive to watch Eileen Fonte, the company’s longtime Dispatcher, busy at work in her office as she manages and oversees the comings and goings of its extensive fleet of trucks and drivers all day long.
“We do our best to make sure everyone is taken care of all the time,” said Fonte.
Without a doubt, the Finocchio Brothers Inc. organization is a one-of-a-kind operation that reflects so much of what defines the heart and spirit so many individuals in Greenwich, as well as in the Fairfield and Westchester Counties with its extraordinary leader and team who have made and continue to make an impact upon so many in a vital way.
