references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations . please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . october 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message edis industry construction management general contracting design build founded 1908 1908 founder ernesto disabatino headquarters wilmington delaware key people e. andrew disabatino jr. ceo brian disabatino president richard disabatino evp andrew disabatino iii services construction management number of employees 72 2012 divisions edis building systems edis company asset management alliance edis development edis interiors website www.ediscompany.com edis is a construction management firm with offices in wilmington delaware and west chester pennsylvania . it has five divisions edis building systems edis asset management alliance edis development and edis interiors . originally formed in 1908 as a stonemason contractor edis has survived the past 100 years through world war ii the great depression and several recessions . edis is considered one of the first construction management firms in delaware . contents 1 history 2 war era 3 post war era 4 2000s 5 notable clients 6 references 7 external links history edit as master stonemasons ernesto disabatino and his sons stayed busy with tunnel projects in the abruzzo region of italy . in 1905 ernesto and his eldest two sons arthur and clarence were constructing the simplon tunnel in the alps along the switzerland border . on the jobsites ernesto taught his sons the construction trade but also valuable life lessons which would later be the core values of edis . after failing his army physical because of a misdiagnosis of tuberculosis arthur along with brother clarence encouraged their father ernesto to emigrate to america as new opportunities for a better life were available . with initial hesitation ernesto agreed that immigration to america was best for the family . the family had a sponsor in little italy wilmington luigi pedicone and when the disabatino family arrived in 1906 they immediately picked up work as stonemasons . at that time bricklayers earned 3 for 1 000 bricks laid . ernesto and sons arthur and clarence worked 12 hours a day six days a week as master stonemasons . by january 1907 the remaining family emigrated to wilmington delaware including wife angela dea and the remaining disabatino children . 1 ernesto settled quickly and within 15 months of his arrival established ernest disabatino and sons in 1908 . originally started as a masonry contracting company quality construction by skilled tradesmen became the principals for edis . in 1917 the company moved to their first office at 415 lincoln street and through hard work became a leader in the construction field and the community . one of the best known projects at this time was st. anthony of padua church a little italy landmark which was completed in 1926 . ernesto disabatino later received the papal cross of honor pro ecclesia et pontifice in honor of his work in starting the parish and erecting the church . around the same time was the completion of st. francis hospital in 1925 the hospital was located in little italy the area where ernesto originally settled . after the death of ernesto in 1932 at the age of 67 the business was left in the hands of his four sons arthur clarence dominick and paul . 2 war era edit with the third generation of the company serving in the war this time period is considered to be one of the most challenging times in the company s history . eugene disabatino an engineer worked on the manhattan project that produced the nuclear bomb . during world war ii the company helped major corporations convert their factories for wartime production while also assisting the government with defense and housing projects . post war era edit the baby boomer generation proved to be a success in the eyes of top management as edis was commissioned to build numerous schools for the growing children population in delaware . even today education remains a large market for edis . the dupont family became a customer for edis with the construction of the nemours building and the edgemoor plant in the late 1930s . november 14 1963 marked the dedication for the delaware service plaza a project edis managed . on hand for the dedication was president john f. kennedy ; it was his last public statement on a public works project as his assassination was a week later . 2000s edit the developments of the wilmington riverfront lead to the construction and renovation of many prominent buildings on the christina river . notable projects such as the riverfront market ing direct and harry s seafood grill are all edis star projects . another notable project completed in 2002 was the new castle county courthouse . the company built the 137 million 572 000 sq. ft. 14 story building over 3 1 2 years and serves as a landmark in the wilmington skyline . in 2009 edis partnered with peninsula compost to develop the wilmington organic recycling center ; the first high volume consistently viable and logistically feasible opportunity to divert food waste for the purpose of recycling in the mid atlantic region . notable clients edit amtrak appoquinimink school district archdiocese of philadelphia astrazeneca brandywine realty trust reit capital school district christiana care health system city of wilmington delaware state university dupont fidelity investments fisker automotive grant & eisenhofer p.a. hmshost ingdirect jpmorgan chase legg mason pnc bank state of delaware sunday breakfast mission university of delaware references edit disabatino andrew . edis heritage pdf . retrieved 15 august 2011 . rainey doug . family values pdf . business ledger . retrieved april 14 2011 . external links edit ediscompany.com jfrederickandsons.com familybusinessmagazine.com nrdc.org peninsulacompostcompany.com retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title edis company & oldid 578698956 categories construction and civil engineering companies of the united stateswilmington riverfrontcompanies based in wilmington delawarecompanies established in 19081908 establishments in delawarehidden categories articles lacking in text citations from october 2013all articles lacking in text citations navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 25 october 2013 at 15 01 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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