Richard DiPaolo Sr., 80
President
Founded family business: 1948
Paul DiPaolo, son, 56
VP/operations
Joined family business: 1962
Richard “Dick” DiPaolo Jr., son, 52
VP/administration
Joined family business: 1969
Mark Mizer, grandson, 36
VP/sales & marketing
Joined family business: 1986
Christopher DiPaolo, grandson, 28
Marketing coordinator
Joined family business: 1993
Rich DiPaolo III, grandson, 24
Regional sales representative
Joined family business: 1996
Business in the DiPaolo family began in 1915 when Richard DiPaolo Sr.’s mother, Luisa, opened DiPaolo Grocery in Columbus. When she died, DiPaolo Sr. joined with his father to run the business. In 1948 he decided to branch out on his own, entering the wholesale business by starting DiPaolo Food Distributors. His sons, Richard Jr. and Paul, joined him. The business grew until 1985, when it merged with Houston-based Sysco Corp. In February 1996, the younger DiPaolos, who had since left DiPaolo/Sysco, and their father reopened in Columbus as RDP Foodservice and essentially started anew. Since then, the company has grown to more than 40 employees, approximately 350 customers and projected 1998 sales of $20 million.
Tech International
Pauline Chambers Yost, 81
Owner, president and CEO
Purchased business: 1956
Cheryl Poulton, daughter, 51
Vice president of development and secretary of the board; president of Chambers Family of Cos., a development company for properties and holdings of Technical Rubber Co. Investment Corp., a subsidiary of Tech International
Joined family business: 1972
Michael Chambers, grandson, 36
COO and executive vice president
Joined family business: 1982
(Wife, Kim, joined company in 1993.)
Gary Chambers, grandson, 41
President of Cham-Cor Industries, a printing company subsidiary
Joined family business: 1993
Nicole Layne, granddaughter, 22
President of Chambers Internet Access, owned by Chambers Family of Cos.
Joined family business: 1996
(Husband, Dan, joined company in 1995.)
Tech International first operated in 1939 out of a barn behind the Johnstown home of founder Charles Cornell, father of the company’s current CEO, Pauline Chambers Yost. After Cornell died, Pauline and her husband Frank purchased the business. Frank ran the company until his passing in 1972, when Pauline took over. The company has expanded to include three factories in India and one in Ireland with total revenues between $50 million and $75 million. While 225 employees work in Johnstown, a total of 700 work worldwide, and the company has a marketing presence in 90 countries.
