goods. In 1997, Home Depot became a client in addition to Kmart and Wal-Mart. The company added a research and development division to its growing empire, with emphasis on quality control. The company now has over forty patents for different PVC products. In January 2000, Efrain Vassallo (the only Puerto Rican named National Small Businessman of the Year [in 1996], to date) rejoined his brother in Vassallo Industries Inc as a consultant. In 2003, Vassallo Industries Inc. invested $15 million in the expansion of its facility in Ponce, in an effort to produce Polyvinyl Chloride pellets for distribution in the United States, Caribbean and Latin America. 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, Lowe's and Walgreens to its clientele. Among the many products manufactured by the company founded by Salvador Vassallo are the following: fittings, flexible conduit, flower pots, leaf rakes, step stones, water tanks, pipes, PVC cement, kayaks and water floats. The company produces plastic furniture under the brand Signature Series Line. Later years 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. His nephew, Jesse, (Victor's son), a swimmer, has continued the family tradition by establishing "Vassallo Unlimited". Death On 21 January 2007, Salvador Vassallo died in the Hospital San Cristóbal in Ponce from a heart attack. He was buried in Las Mercedes Cemetery, and was survived by his wife Olga and two children, Rafael and Viviana. The Mayor of Ponce, Francisco Zayas Seijo, declared three days of mourning and ordered the flags at Ponce's City Hall to be flown at half mast. See also List of Puerto Ricans Notes References External links Syroco Puerto Rico Herald 1942 births 2007 deaths Burials at Cementerio Las Mercedes 20th-century Puerto Rican businesspeople Puerto Rican people of Italian descent Industrialists from Ponce