In 1937, Nicholas Mazacco started the Grove Venetian Blind Company in the basement of a relatives home on Grove Street in Lodi, New Jersey. Nick started out manufacturing wood blinds in the evening after work. As the demand grew for his product line, he left his day job to pursue the expansion of his company and brought in several family members.

By 1940, Nick relocated the business to a small 1,300 square foot wood building, in the same town where he had started the business. The business continued to grow and expanded into aluminum blinds, aluminum awnings, and window shades which were sold to homeowners and small venetian blind retailers in Northern New Jersey.

After World War II, when metal was no longer on strict allocation to the war effort, Nick designed and manufactured the American Jewel Storm Window. The storm windows quickly became known as top in their class so Nick expanded his factory 10 fold to meet demand 14,000 square feet. Grove and the American Jewel brand enjoyed over three decades of success.

The 1960's brought an economic down turn for Grove, but it also brought personal joy because Nick and his wife, Mary were blessed with three grandchildren from his daughter, Maryann and two from his son, Joseph.

Through the early 1970's Nick's oldest grandchild, Joel Cuccio, the son of Maryann, took great interest in the business and began working after school pursuing new ideas. Joel spent endless hours convincing his grandfather to expand the business into a new concept in window manufacturing, the insulated vinyl replacement window.

In the late 1970's Grove began to manufacture an early version of the vinyl double hung window. As the 70's ended, Nick retired due to temporary illness and left the day to day operations to Joel to run. As the vinyl window market grew stronger and stronger through the 1980's, Grove expanded.

In 1985 Joel bought Versatile Distributors from Philip Koenig, then president of the local company that was both a supplier and customer of Grove. With Phil's continued support and the combined effort of Joel's father Joseph Cuccio, and brother Todd Cuccio, they relocated Versatile from Mercer Street in Lodi to River Road in Clifton . Once the relocation was completed, Versatile began to manufacture the Dayton Technologies casement window line.

Joel realized he needed a product line name to unite the Grove double hung, manufactured in Lodi , and the Versatile casement window, manufactured in Clifton . He reflected on the successful name of the American Jewel storm window his grandfather used in the 50's and modified it to identify with the current vinyl window line: American Jewel Window Systems.

In an effort to streamline the two companies, Joel sought his grandfather's approval to merge the two businesses into one. Today the company retains Versatile Distributors as its legal name, however, it trades under American Jewel Window Systems for its window manufacturing and distributing business. After the consolidation, (Joel's brother) Todd Cuccio successfully led the company's manufacturing operation in Clifton with one goal in mind, continuous improvement.

In 1994, after a long and hard search, Joel and Todd moved and consolidated all operations into the company's current facility located back in the same town where their grandfather started over 60 years ago.

In 2007 the manufacturing facility was expanded to more than 63,000 square feet to meet growing demand.

Now, our production facility produces more advanced products in greater quantity than ever. From our 3 acre parcel we distribute from Virginia to Connecticut. Despite all of our changes, American Jewel Window Systems remains true to the principal we started with in 1937, providing quality products that last, season after season.

Author: Joel Cuccio