Company History

How It All Began...

Our story begins at the turn of the twentieth century in Italy where James Ghilotti , our founder, learned stone masonry from his father and grandfather. In the early 1900’s, the Ghilotti family lived in the small Italian village of Grosio , north of Lake Como. They were stonemasons by trade, but work was so hard to find that it became clear that the family must scatter to support itself. At the age of 18, James Ghilotti and two of his brothers left Italy and ventured to South Africa where he worked in the Kimberly Diamond Mines for the next four years with two of his uncles. James’s father and an uncle left for South America. Their hard work allowed them to send money home. Having saved most of the money he had earned during that four-year period, James returned to Italy, but he found that money was still scarce and payment for a job well done often came in form of a goat, plus a couple of wheels of cheese and a salami. James, however, rather liked being paid in cash, having become accustomed to it in South Africa. Soon, he grew restless and had the urge to travel.

An uncle who had settled in San Rafael, California, found that work and money were plentiful in his new home and invited James to come to the United States. James arrived in California in 1903 and began practicing his craft of stone masonry. James Ghilotti returned to Italy about four years later, where he met and married his wife, Amalia. The couple originally planned to settle in James’ hometown of Grosio, but the land of “La Fortuna” beckoned, and he returned to Marin County with Amalia and their six-month-old son, William, in 1913.

James set up his shop at 1329 Fourth Street in San Rafael and began his own company, James Ghilotti Contractor , in 1914. By means of a horse-drawn sled, James carted rocks down from the hills of Marin and Sonoma Counties. These rocks were then transferred to wagons and hauled throughout the counties while James painstakingly performed mason work by hand. He built some of the area’s first concrete retaining walls and concrete patios. Today, much of his work remains as a testament to his fine craftsmanship, including the rock walls at the Blue Rock Inn. The swimming pools at Catherine Branson School and the Dominican Convent have withstood the test of time. Not until 2005 was the pool at Dominican Convent demolished, and then only for expansion at the school. The James Ghilotti stamp , set in concrete, can be seen today at many of these early projects.

James and Amalia had five sons, William (Willie), Dante, Dino, Henry (Babe), Mario, and a daughter, Nancy. As the years passed, James’ sons, Willie, Dino, Babe and Mario, became active participants in the family business, and the company prospered. James took great pride in his sons’ accomplishments, and in true Italian fashion rewarded them appropriately. In 1939, he changed the company name to James Ghilotti and Sons .

After serving their country during World War II, the sons returned to the family construction business, which at that time, consisted primarily of small grading and paving jobs. Wanting to expand their knowledge, the boys began attending seminars and taking courses in construction techniques. As their knowledge expanded, so did the business, and soon the small jobs became larger, and the company’s services expanded. They got into concrete tilt-ups, then earthwork and demolition, and finally, paving and underground.

By introducing these new construction techniques to the company, the company began to diversify. This diversification started the wheels turning in the direction of the dramatic expansion the company would experience in the years to come. In fact, the company still provides most of those services today.

In 1950 after years of hard work, James Ghilotti sold the company to his sons when the company changed its name to Ghilotti Bros., Inc. In 1960, Henry (Babe) Ghilotti left the company to join Elmo Magiorra and start Magiorra and Ghilotti in San Rafael, along with the help of Babe’s sons, Gary, Glenn, and Greg. In 1967, Willie died, leaving the company in the care of Dino and Mario for the next 45 years.

During the subsequent years, Ghilotti Bros., Inc. grew from gross sales of $20 million annually to over $80 million during the 1980’s. Dino passed away in 1990, and his son, Richard (Dick) worked with Mario running the company. In 1992, Richard (Dick) Ghilotti left the company to start Ghilotti Construction Company with Jim Ghilotti (Babe’s son) with its headquarters based in Santa Rosa.

In 1992, Mario, the last surviving brother, teamed up with his wife, Eva, to continue the business with their two sons, Michael (Mike) and Dante, serving as vice-presidents. Mike and Dante purchased the company from Mario and Eva in 2000, successfully bringing Ghilotti Bros., Inc. into its third generation of ownership.

James always maintained the approach, “Earn respect by doing a job well, treat employees with respect, and do good work for the community.” This philosophy has been carried on and incorporated into the company’s mission statement and remains the backbone of the company’s driving force today.

Ghilotti Bros., Inc. has grown considerably since it’s beginning in 1914 and remains a multi-million dollar company and one of the largest employers of construction personnel in northern California. Hard work and pride in the quality of construction exemplify the core values of GBI’s third-generation family-owned and operated business. Today, GBI builds on those strengths in planning its future and incorporating new strategic planning to ensure GBI’s goal of achieving “Best in Class” in Northern California with its 100th year anniversary in 2014.