C. Caramanico and Sons Inc. celebrates 75 years and four generations of proud ownership

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By Peg DeGrassa | pdegrassa@delconewsnetwork.com | The Delaware County Daily Times PUBLISHED: December 6, 2021 at 3:24 a.m. | UPDATED: December 6, 2021 at 4:36 a.m.

UPLAND — C. Caramanico and Sons Inc. is celebrating 75 years. The family-owned business, based in Delaware County, offers commercial landscaping and maintenance, as well as snow and ice management.
Owners John Jr. and Bill Caramanico, both of Springfield, are fourth-generation owners who pride themselves on keeping the same work ethic and core values in the company, as when their great grandfather started the business over seven decades ago. Headquartered in Upland, the company also has satellite locations in West Chester, Allentown and Camden, New Jersey.

For the last 75 years, C. Caramanico and Sons has been a trusted landscaping company servicing over tens of thousands of acres of turf and employing thousands of employees. C. Caramanico and Sons’s mission is to build long-lasting relationships with customers, vendors and employees by providing the highest level of landscaping service in the Greater Philadelphia region. The company serves customers in Philadelphia and five surrounding counties, as well as Lehigh Valley, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.

“Caramanico and Sons Inc. cares just as much as our clients do about the appearance of their property – we have built our careers, livelihood, and legacy on attractive landscapes,” John Caramanico Sr. said in a recent interview.

The company has a long and proud history, rooted in the local community. The first seed was planted in the 1930s, when Carmine Caramanico, an Italian immigrant, began a small gardening service from his home in the Overbrook section of West Philadelphia. When they weren’t in school, his sons Dan and Dom helped to mow lawns and do other landscaping tasks, as well as communicate with customers and collect money for services, since their father didn’t speak English well.

Having both graduated from St. Thomas More High School in June 1941, Dan and Dom were drafted in the army after Pearl Harbor was attacked and the country joined the allied forces in World War II. They promised their father that they would support him and their mother Giovina while they were away. To make sure Carmine didn’t sell the one truck he owned while they were overseas, the boys jacked up the truck and parked it behind a neighbor’s garage..

World War II ended, and the brothers returned home to Philadelphia and, with their father, began a new residential landscaping service called Carmine Caramanico and Sons, Landscape Gardening. With many new businesses in the workforce after the war, Carmine, Dan and Dom worked hard to remain in business. However, according to the generations that followed in the business, it was not just hard work that would strengthen their forefathers’ business and make it grow. Carmine, Dan and Dom sowed in strong values as well. Quality work, excellent customer service and building strong relationships were at the root of everything they did.

In 1950, the sons moved the business out to the suburbs in Springfield, where they quickly grew their customer base in Delaware County. The business expanded to include asphalt services, and soon they were providing landscaping, driveways and walkways for some of the most prominent builders in the area.

They opened a small nursery operation in Gradyville to enable them to grow evergreens and flowering shrubs for the housing developments that were sprouting up in record number. The sons were also expanding into the commercial market by landscaping small office buildings and fast food restaurants. By that time the company had expanded to 20 employees. In 1985, Dan’s sons, Michael and John, bought the business. They incorporated the business and turned their focus to commercial landscaping with a specialty in landscape maintenance and installation.

In the early 1990s, the business continued to expand and added excavation projects such as golf courses and athletic field construction. Hardscaping, including patios and retaining walls, soon followed. In 1999, the business moved from its Gradyville location to a three-acre complex in Upland that includes an office, a 5000-square-foot workshop for maintaining trucks and equipment, and outside storage for bulk materials and supplies. In 2013, the company was honored by The Delaware County Chamber of Commerce with the Family Business of the Year Award.

In 2014, John Sr.’s sons John Jr. and Bill bought the business and have focused on growing the commercial landscape maintenance division, along with snow and ice services.

In the past 75 years, C. Caramanico and Sons, Inc has grown from a one-man operation in the 1930s with Carmine as sole proprietor to over a hundred associates today with his two great-grandsons at the helm of the large corporation. Having thrived through four generations, the company’s team of 120 employees consists of multiple families with brothers, wives and children who also work there. Some of the employees have been Caramanico team members for up to 20 and 30 years.

The company has always embraced a core value of charitable giving to local communities including youth leagues, schools, hospitals, charities and more. From fixing and cleaning Chester Little League fields to building new bikes for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, C. Caramanico and Sons, Inc. is devoted to helping improve the local community.

The company continually evolves. What started out as a simple, residential lawn care business has expanded into landscape construction and site work during the building booms, and added golf course construction and large landscape installations such as Dilworth Park and Love Park. C. Caramanico and Sons Inc. now also focuses on landscape and snow management contracts for universities such as St. Joseph’s University, Villanova University, Drexel University, Widener University, hospitals such as Main Line Health and Einstein Health, and office and warehouse complexes such as the Navy Yard.

According to the current owners, “Caramanico and Sons Inc. will continue to grow its utilization of technology and invest in the latest and best equipment for its team with an emphasis on reducing risk, maximizing efficiencies, user friendly customer service, and producing higher quality landscapes for customers.”

Caramanico and Sons Inc. held a 75 year celebration in September at Tyler Arboretum in Middletown attended by 250 customers, vendors, employees and their families. Reflecting back on the countless satisfied customers, their dedicated team of hardworking professionals, and all the changes and growth that have occurred through the years to make Caramanico and Sons Inc. into the successful business that it is today, the company indeed has much to celebrate.
“We’re a family-owned business that is still small enough to offer exceptional personalized service, yet large enough and technologically advanced to work with the most sophisticated customers and attract the best team members in the industry,” said John Caramanico, Sr., proudly.

For 75 years, through all four generations, C. Caramanico and Sons Inc. has operated by observing dozens of core principals, things like “Act like it’s yours,” “Get clear expectations,” “Lead by example,” “Make quality personal,” “Deliver legendary,” “Honor commitments,” “Strive for better,” “Be proactive,” “Invest in relationships,” “Be fanatic about response time,” “Do what’s best for the customer,”  “Embrace diverse perspectives,” “Listen generously,” and many more. They call these tenets, “The Caramanico Way.”

“The Caramanico Way describes the values, behaviors, principles, and practices that are the foundation of our unique culture,” John Sr. explained. “It explains how we relate to each other, our clients, and even our suppliers. It’s who we are, and it’s what drives our extraordinary success.”

For more information, call 610-499-1640, email john@caramanicolandscape.com or visit https://www.caramanicolandscape.com.