“On decreases at 100%. We scrape to the bone.” With the Stramigioli, we are not in the wall trompe-l'oeil or approximation. Whether in their meticulous work of renovating facades, including the spectacular ones of three of the seven historic buildings on Place Masséna, or in their language of reinforced concrete.
We're getting to the bottom of things. We say things. The father, Christophe, 62 years old, born in La Sirole. A giant. Who loves jewelry. Who calls a spade a spade, but who melts in front of Titi, the company's feline mascot and the countless animals, collected in his domain, on the heights of Nice.
The sons, Antoni, 34 years old and Chris, 32 years old, the successors, the owners of the business for 6 years. Same DNA as the father, same strong, same hardworking, but quieter than the father.
The Stramigioli. A family. A clan. A group. An empire, whose headquarters is located in Canta Galet, on 3,000m2orchestrates 9.2 million excluding taxes in turnover, gigantic crane, construction vehicles, a thousand props, 50,000 square meters of personal scaffolding.
From his incredible metal office in the shape of an airplane wing, Christophe whirs: “We were the only ones to set up a scaffolding department… We are around twenty renovators in the region, but our company is 43 years old, it is the oldest on the local market, it lasts, and, 'unlike others, did not go bankrupt. I claim it.'
Skilled workers
A mania for work, for carrots, always speaking your mind, constantly having an expert eye on the finishes, sticking to site monitoring. These are undoubtedly the layers of success applied to most of the Nice and Riviera facades to be renovated, only old condominiums closely monitored by Bâtiments de France, on the reinforcement of balconies, “because in Nice, many overloaded floors collapse”on emergency acrobatic safety work or decking, on cladding, cleaning, etc.
The two brothers add another layer: “We have the qualification Qualibat, label for which we set up a call for tenders every 4 years and which certifies that we have all the insurance, all the guarantees. We also benefit from qualification in scaffolding, masonry, painting and everything related to external insulation.”
The fact remains that the façade workers sometimes struggle to build the wall. “I, in my time, says the father, I had to fight to get a building. Today, it is enough for the trustee to hire a subcontractor. It's all well and good to have new customers, but it's also about keeping the ones we've had for 20 years. The new ones are cutting prices. Everyone wants to pass Stramigioli…”
The next generation is not in danger of collapsing
There is the struggle. There is pleasure, shared by the trio: “We arrive at something rotten. When it's finished, it's magnificent, you can see all the reliefs on the facade.”
A delight that animates Christophe's sons, reassured by this filial succession: “I started from nothing, with a 4L and afterward, I worked, I suffered. I very quickly built a house for each of my two sons so that they could concentrate on their work. What they do. They are worse than me. They set up their team by only taking on young people who want it, including Manon and Tiphaine, two construction managers, two fighter planes. “
A dolphin and tiags
An airplane wing as an office. “Do you like Christophe planes?“Fasten your seat belt, boss boss:”I like everything! Planes, trucks, tractors…“
What a character! Fear of nothing, of no one. “My father was an architect, my mother a fashion designer and seamstress, my sister an engineer. I was the family dunce! At 16, I went to the Demichelis company, the biggest carpentry in Canta Galet, then to Serge Ferrari, an art cabinetmaker in La Madeleine. At the same time, I was training at the CFA de Carros to become a cabinetmaker..”
A funny teenager. “I was a fighter, a party animal. I was going up to Auron, where I knew a girl. She earned 7,000 francs per month while I only received 350 francs. As I was quite proud, I left my place. I did an internship to be a painter, although my grandfather and my uncle, who were painters, dissuaded me from it. In 1981 I settled down, I was 18 and a half.”
The lucky star
Military service. Return to Nice. First construction site in La Sirole, his native land.
“In one week, I won 4,000 francs, that put an arrow in my heart… and it went like that. I took an office on route de Saint-Pierre-de-Féric, then avenue Raymond-Comboul. A girl, Stella, came to me for paint. At the same time, she wanted to quit her job. I asked her to be a sales representative for me. All the buildings we wanted, we had them. She stayed for 22 years. She was passionate about dolphins, she went swimming with them. My favorite color is yellow. She was the one who made me put up big signs with my name on them. My paint supplier jokingly suggested that I put a sardine on it. The yellow dolphin, symbol of the company, was born like this. However, I love eagles…“
“The building is my life”
Eagles and cowboy boots. “I have 80 pairs of cowboy boots. I was told I needed the costume. My life is tiags, but I always kept my word. When I say I do, I do.” Same with the tiags.
Today, the sneakers of the two sons are also coming. Have made their way behind their father's footsteps. Follow their route.
“At 15 and a half, they stopped studying. Antoni is a mason, Chris is a painter. My sons inherited my seriousness and when they came of age, they left with trucks and scaffolding. For 6 years, they have been managing the company. I come every morning, but I have branched off into something else. As I know all the trustees, I started working as a property dealer and promotion. The building is my life.”
