1947
After returning home from serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Laurence Silvi, eventually known as Larry Sr., is working as a butcher at his family’s general store in Tullytown, PA. When a customer couldn’t pay off his debt, he gifts the family with a cement block plant. Larry Sr. is placed in charge of this new endeavor, and he starts “making block” at night after his shift at the general store ends. Thus, The Silvi Group is born.
1951
Larry Sr. moves into a farmhouse in Morrisville, PA, with his new bride and rents the upstairs apartment to a purchasing agent from William J. Levitt & Sons. The same year, William J. Levitt starts building a 16,000-home project to be called Levittown, PA.
1954
Larry Sr. starts a sand-washing operation on his farmland to supply the Levittown project.
1958
Larry Sr. expands the business to include ready-mix concrete to supply the last 40 homes in Levittown, PA. The Silvi Group buys two 6-yard “pony motor” mixer trucks to officially start their concrete business.
1963
Levitt awards contract to Silvi to be the sole supplier for a 16,000-home project in Willingboro NJ, and a 5,000-home project in Matawan, NJ.