Dario Amicucci '01

Amicucci serves as the CEO and president of Cold Mix Manufacturing, a Flushing, N.Y.-based operation that has blazed a trail with GreenPatch®, an ecofriendly alternative to traditional cold asphalt mix for pothole repair.

After earning his management degree, Amicucci went to work for his family's asphalt plant in Mount Vernon, N.Y., before leaving in 2006 to start Cold Mix. He also has served as the plant operations manager at Cofire Industries in Flushing, N.Y., since 2005, advancing the company's business to a $6 million enterprise as the main production facility for GreenPatch.

Amicucci teamed with two others from his family's Mount Vernon plant to create GreenPatch, which uses plant-based solvents instead of diesel and other hazardous carcinogens. They tested nearly 25 combinations of plant solvents to find the "right formula" in 2007. The product emits zero VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and more than half of the mix is recycled asphalt product.

The product was a hit among contractors who appreciated that the mix was low in odor and performed well. During the particularly harsh winter of 2011, the company's sales increased tremendously. "We knew we were onto something, but we didn't think it was going to grow this quickly," said Amicucci.

Cold Mix recently opened a larger facility in Patterson, N.Y. that will service the increasing demand in the Northeast. The Cold Mix client list includes utility companies and transportation departments across the Northeast and GreenPatch is available at Home Depot in the greater New York area.

Reflecting on his days at Quinnipiac, he remembers Dale Jasinski, associate professor of management, commenting that with a brand product, an entrepreneur should strive to be "the Kleenex of facial tissues."

"For us, it would be the GreenPatch of the eco-friendly cold asphalt products," he said.