American Fireworks (Hudson, Ohio)

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In 1899, a young man named Vincenzo Sorgi decided to leave his home in Avenzzano, Italy and come to the United States. After a series of jobs, the last of which was laying track for the Pennsylvania Railroad, he found himself in Hudson, Ohio. In 1902 he started the American Fireworks Company and became the fourth generation of his family to be involved in the field of pyrotechnics.

Starting out in one small building, he quickly gained recognition for his handmade products of beauty and quality. In 1929, "Jimmy the Bomb" (as his friends referred to him) gained world wide recognition by becoming one of the first attempting to shoot a rocket to the moon. Though never achieving his goal, his designs and plans closely parallel those used today and he was regarded as an innovator, well ahead of his time.

Today, over nine decades later, things at American Fireworks have changed very little. The business is still family owned by Vincenzo's son Jim and grandson John; they are the fifth and sixth generation of the Sorgi fireworks family, with hopes that great grandsons James, John and Roberto, the seventh generation will carry on in the future.

Vincenzo's one building on 1/2 acre has grown to 40 buildings on 70 acres of land. Customers that numbered no more than three dozen a year have grown to over 1000. Yet the special formulas, the handmade craftsmanship of every shell and the individual attention paid to each order are still hallmarks of the company.

Though the company is no longer shooting rockets to the moon, the Sorgi's of American Fireworks are still firmly committed to fireworks displays that are not only out of this world, but like the company's founder,"ahead of their time".


www.americanfireworks.com/