Industrias Vassallo, Inc. is a "worldwide leader" in the manufacture and distribution of PVC injection moulded and extruded goods, and manufacturer and distributor of

PVC pipe Plastic pipe is a tubular section, or hollow cylinder, made of plastic. It is usually, but not necessarily, of circular cross-section, used mainly to convey substances which can flow—liquids and gases (fluids), slurries, powders and masses of sm ...

s and accessories, related plastics products, and

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

. The company is located in Barrio

Coto Laurel Coto Laurel (''Barrio Coto Laurel'') is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Anón, Marueño, Guaraguao, Quebrada Limon, Real, and San Patricio, and the coastal barrios of Canas and Capitanejo, Coto Lau ...

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

. In 2004, the company had a workforce of 300 employees and revenues of $51 M

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

. Its president is Rafael Vassallo. Salvador Vassallo was the company's CEO and president until his death in 2007.

History

In 1962, the four grandsons of Vicente Vassallo Fiorimonte, an Italian immigrant who established a metal shop in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1898, began experimenting with making construction products from a promising new substance, polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. With an initial investment of $3,000, their decision to start manufacturing products with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) lead to the creation of a purely Puerto Rican company that has subsequently been quite successful in the

plastics industry The plastics industry manufactures polymer materials—commonly called plastics—and offers services in plastics important to a range of industries, including packaging, building and construction, electronics, aerospace, and transportation. It is ...

Growth

In the last 50 years, Industrias Vassallo, Inc. was a pioneer in the production and distribution of PVC pipes and accessories for water and

sanitary Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems a ...

use. The company grew, distributing its products to countries in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, the

Caribbean Basin In Geography, the Caribbean Basin is generally defined as the area running from Florida westward along the Gulf coast, then south along the Mexican coast through Central America and then eastward across the northern coast of South America. This ...

, the United States, and Canada. Following their success of PVC pipe in the

construction industry Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and come ...

, the company established operations in the United States during the 1970s. At the same time, the company began to export to Central and South America, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean Islands. In 1989, Industrias Vassallo, Inc. consolidated its operations into a new industrial complex facility located in Barrio

, on the outskirts of Ponce, Puerto Rico. In 1997, Industrias Vassallo, Inc., engaged in the modernization of their plants, inaugurating a new rotomolding plant. The new unit made it possible to process up to 100,000 lbs of polyethylene per week. Polyethylene is a high impact plastic used for diverse products, such as

water tank A water tank is a container for storing water. Water tanks are used to provide storage of water for use in many applications, drinking water, irrigation agriculture, fire suppression, agricultural farming, both for plants and livestock, chemi ...

s, security barriers,

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

s and

flowerpot A flowerpot, planter, planterette or plant pot, is a container in which flowers and other plants are cultivated and displayed. Historically, and still to a significant extent today, they are made from plain terracotta with no ceramic glaze, wi ...

s. In 2004, Industrias Vassallo acquired Syroco Incorporated, a company founded by Adolph Holstein in the late 19th century. Industrias Vassallo took over the plants and assets in Arkansas, Corona, Calif., and two in New York state, near Baldwinsville, NY. In 2005, and due to the increasing cost of electricity, the company considered moving its operations to the United States, but the plans were abandoned after successful negotiations with the

commonwealth government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

. Despite the optimism in acquiring Syroco, the company had to develop a production strategy that would reduce expenses such as electricity cost. Due to the high cost of electricity in Puerto Rico versus Arkansas, USA, Vassallo saw a savings to the company between 10 and 13 cents per kilowatt in energy bills. As a result, ultimately the company moved all of its production facilities to the United States, and by 2011 its manufacturing facilities in

, Ponce, were being rented out to a college named Caribbean University. The company does continue to have a presence in Coto Laurel, where it maintains its corporate offices.

Diversification

From manufacturing and distribution of

plastic pipe Plastic pipe is a tubular section, or hollow cylinder, made of plastic. It is usually, but not necessarily, of circular cross-section, used mainly to convey substances which can flow—liquids and gases (fluids), slurries, powders and masses of sm ...

and accessories for

and electrical applications, the company diversified into plastic furniture and accessories for

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

use. The company manufactures products of diverse plastic materials, among them: polyvinyl chloride (PVC),

polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bo ...

, and

polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefins and ...

. In 1983, the company established Vassallo Research & Development Corporation, to fill its R&D needs, and further enhance its product line. "The company now holds scores of world-wide patents and is constantly developing new processes and products. Many have set national regulatory quality standards for the industry."

Certifications

Industrias Vassallo, Inc. manufactures as per the specifications established by the

American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, an ...

(ASTM) agency. The company is also certified by recognized regulatory agencies such as the

American Water Works Association American Water Works Association (AWWA) is an international non-profit, scientific and educational association founded to improve water quality and supply. Established in 1881, it is a lobbying organization representing a membership (as of 2012) o ...

(AWWA), the

Canadian Standards Association The CSA Group (formerly the Canadian Standards Association; CSA) is a standards organization which develops standards in 57 areas. CSA publishes standards in print and electronic form, and provides training and advisory services. CSA is composed ...

(CSA), the

National Sanitary Foundation NSF (an initialism for National Sanitation Foundation) is a product testing, inspection, certification organization with headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan. NSF also offers consulting and training services worldwide. History NSF Internatio ...

(NSF),

Factory Mutual FM Global is an American mutual insurance company based in Johnston, Rhode Island, United States, with offices worldwide, that specializes in loss prevention services primarily to large corporations throughout the world in the ''Highly Protecte ...

(FM), and

Underwriters Laboratories The UL enterprise is a global safety science company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, composed of three organizations, UL Research Institutes, UL Standards & Engagement and UL Solutions. Established in 1894, the UL enterprise was founded a ...

(UL).

Reorganization

The acquisition of a company in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

turned to be a bad investment for the company. In 2008, Vassallo Industries had to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, resulting mostly from failures at the Arkansas operation. Upon reorganization a new company was created on August 26, 2010, Vassallo International Group, Inc. (VINGI), with Rafael Vassallo Collazo as its president.Periodico La Perla del Sur. ''Se Reinventan las Industrias Vassallo.'' By Reinaldo Milan. August 30, 2010.
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References