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Company History

Raymond Azzarelli’s entrance into the construction business was almost by accident. Born in Pozzallo, Sicily, he had come to Kankakee in 1911 to work for the railroad. During his free time, he sold fruits and vegetables door to door from a horse and cart and later by truck. In 1936, he bought a 40 acre farm in an effort to enlarge his growing fruit and vegetable business. The farm on the current site of Kankakee Valley Construction Co. had rich sand deposits, excellent for construction, but not so good for raising crops. He purchased some trucks to haul sand, and a business was born.

In 1948, with the help of his five sons, Joseph, Bartle, Peter, Sam, and John, the Azzarelli Trucking and Excavating Company was formed and in 1955 was incorporated as Azzarelli Construction Company. In 2002 Azzarelli has was acquired by Kankakee Valley Construction Co. Today the company has over 200 employees, operates two asphalt plants, owns more than 300 pieces of equipment and is one of the largest Highway contractors in Illinois.

Azzarelli has been synonymous with road construction in the Tampa Bay area since the 1950’s. Jim Azzarelli started Precision Paving of Tampa, Inc. in November 1983. Precision Paving of Tampa, Inc. became Azzarelli Paving / Site Development in January 2003. Jim had worked for Delta Asphalt in Tampa from 1978 to 1983. 

“Growing up in a construction family, I really got the bug for the business,” Jim says. He worked various areas of the business until he finally settled on asphalt paving as his favorite area of the industry.

Jim’s son, Jay Azzarelli, has been working for the company since he could hold a shovel. After graduating from the University of Florida in 2007, he now oversees all operations and estimating for the company. Jay has made a reputation of providing competitive and honest paving services for the Tampa Bay area. “I have very strong passion to provide our industry with exceptional quality and service while maintaining long lasting relationships with customers,” Jay says.

Asphalt paving is the at the core of our business. Our crews provide a wide range of services for various site contractors, property managers, HOA’s, municipalities, business owners, and developers. We offer seal coating, striping, milling, and concrete services as well.

Recently our company model has shifted to include material sales. We produce high quality crushed concrete and asphalt for the local construction industry in the Tampa Bay region.

Being in the business over 30 years shows we stand behind our work and do our best to get jobs completed quickly and efficiently.

Our Management Team