Salvador Vassallo
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Salvador Vassallo a.k.a. "Chiry" (March 24, 1942-January 21, 2007) was the president and CEO of Vassallo Industries Inc., a worldwide leader in the production of PVC injection moulded and extruded goods.
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[edit] Early years
Vassallo's grandparents migrated from Italy in the late 1800's and settled in the town of Yauco. Vassallo and his brothers were born in Yauco and raised in the City of Ponce where their father, Salvador Vassallo Sr., opened a hardware store. Vassallo's father knew how important a good education was and made sure that his children got one. After school hours, Vassallo and his brothers, Efraín, Víctor, Félix and Marcos, would work in the family business. Salvador Vassallo Sr. founded "Vassallo Industries Inc." a company which was initially dedicated to manufacturing windows and cement blocks. [1]
[edit] Vassallo joins family business
After Vassallo graduated from college, he went to work in his father business as a salesman and traveled the island taking orders from established customers and establishing contacts with potential customers. These skills would serve him well when Vassallo and his brothers inherited the hardware business. In the 1950's, Vassallo's brother Efrain David, an Engineer and the oldest of the Vassallo brothers, saw the potential in a relatively "new" invention called "plastic". [1]
[edit] Vassallo Industries Inc.
As a consequence of Efrain David's vision, "Vassallo Industries Inc." became a pioneer in the manufacture and distribution of plastic pipes and its accessories for sanitary and electrical applications in 1962. In 1972, Salvador Vassallo Sr. died and the company was inherited by his sons. Efrain David was President and Chief Executive Officer of Vassallo Industries Inc. from 1978 to 1989. During those 11 years the firm had a net profit of over 25 million dollars evidenced by the combined balance sheets audited by Deloitte, Haskins & Sells from 1978 to 1989.[1]
In 1989, Efrain David sold his interest in "Vassallo Industries Inc" and all his patents to his brothers and joined his son Efrain David Jr., in the development of the Puerto Rican marble industry. The Vassallo Industries Inc. then named Salvador as it's president, and the company continued to grow and became a worldwide leader in the manufacture of PVC and now has a strong market and brand recognition in the United States and Latin-America.[1]
In the 1980s Vassallo opened the "Vassallo Distribution Center" in Miami, Florida, which made the distribution of the Vassallo products in the United Sates easier and more profitable.
[edit] Vassallo Molding Company and other ventures
In 1989 he bought out his brothers and became president and chairman until 2002 when he assumed the CEO´s post. In the 1990s Vassallo founded the "Vassallo Molding Company" which manufactures plastic furniture and household goods. In 1997, Home Depot became a client in addition to Kmart and Wal-Mart. [2]
The company has added a "Research and Development Corporation" to its growing empire. The development of new products, research and quality control are among the main objectives of this division. The company now has over forty patents for different PVC products.
In January 2000, Efrain Vassallo (who is the only Puerto Rican ever named National Small Businessman of the Year (1996)) rejoined his brother in Vassallo Industries Inc as a consultant.
In 2003, Vassallo Industries Inc. invested $15 million to expand its Ponce facility that will produce the Polyvinyl Chloride pellets which will be distributed in the U.S., Caribbean and Latin-America.[2]
In 2004, Vassallo Industries Inc. acquired Syroco Inc., a plastics manufacturer, adding manufacturing operations in California, New York and Arkansas. Syroco is one of the most prominent manufacturers of plastic furniture and wall decor in the United States. By acquiring Syroco, Vassallo Industries Inc. added Target, Sam's Club, Lowes and Walgreens to its clientel.[3]
Among the many products manufactured by the company founded by Salvador Vassallo are the following: fittings, flexible conduit, flower pots, leaf rakes, plastic furniture, step stones, water tanks, pipes, PVC cement, kayaks and water floats. The company also has a line of plastic furniture called the "Signature Series Line".
[edit] Later years
Salvador Vassallo's son, Rafael Vassallo, was named the president of Vassallo Industries Inc. and executive vice president of Syroco Inc. Salvador Vassallo continued to be the CEO of the company and president of the Export Council of Puerto Rico. Vassallo's nephew, Jesse Vassallo (Victor's son) is considered to be the greatest swimmer in Puerto Rican sports history and has continued the family tradition by establishing "Vassallo Unlimited".[4]
On January 21, 2007, Salvador "Chiry" Vassallo died in the Hospital San Cristóbal in Ponce from a heart attack. He was buried in Las Mercedes Cemetery. He is survived by his wife Olga and two children Rafael and Viviana. The Mayor of Ponce, the Honorable Francisco Zayas Seijo, declared three days of mourning and ordered the flags at Ponce's City Hall to be flown at half mast.[5]
