Mark Scarano, left, President of Operations, and Henry Scarano, right, founder and CEO of SPD.

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Henry Scarano was not quite 30 years old when, in 1971, he left his job with a small adhesives manufacturer to go out on his own as an independent sales representative in the mechanical and industrial insulation trade. “I left with about $500, and no company car,” he says. “So, I had a wife, a child, a house and no car.”

Although one of Henry’s older friends had talked with him about what an independent sales representative does, “I had no idea,” he recalls. “My background is that I am the son of immigrant parents. My widowed mother worked in the garment district and did piece work at night while taking care of me and my crippled sister. My first language was Italian, with a Sicilian dialect.”

Since he had experience working in the building trades, he says he decided to stay in the mechanical and industrial insulation segment because it is smaller than something like the lumber industry. And, having worked with a small adhesives manufacturer, he had also gained knowledge about the drywall, insulation and ceramic tile trades. “I’m a believer of the adage that I’d rather be a big fish in a very small pond than be a small fish in a big pond. So, this industry is a small industry. And it’s where I ended up,” Henry says.

It is also an industry where he knows a lot of people and he has leveraged those contacts to build his business. “Over the years, it became easier because I was known in the industry—especially with the small equipment I deal with,” he says. “I meet guys on-site, and those are the guys who are ultimately going to help you promote your own product.”

A Specialty Products Business

According to Henry, the three letters in his company’s name, SPD, stand for “specialty products development.” The company specializes in stud welding, pin welding, buried pipe insulation, corrosion protection and fastening systems for the mechanical insulation and steel fabrication trades. From its headquarters in North Reading, Massachusetts, SPD covers not only its home state, but also Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

For nearly 50 years, Henry has taken care of all aspects of his business. “Not only do I sell it, I lick the stamps and I deliver it to the post office,” he says. “Then I go to the job site.”

Henry says running his own firm has enabled him to progress from being “just some guy trying to challenge the sales manager” to the guy people call to ask questions. “People went from asking me, ‘Who are you?’ to ‘Would you please help me? I have a question,’ ” he explains. “The only thing that has changed is time and a little bit of experience.”

Make that a lot of experience. And that experience pays off for Henry and the company that deals primarily with products used in insulation. “These are the people that insulate anything that carries anything from Point A to Point B—piping and any ductwork, anything that needs to be insulated,” he says.

Examples of the manufacturers and products that SPD represents include:

• Polyguard Products, which provides weather and waterproofing materials that cover insulation to create a thermal and vapor barrier.

• Shur-Fit, a Canadian manufacturer of products used to insulate jacketed piping, tanks, vessels and equipment in industrial facilities.

• Gilsulate 500XR, a granular insulation product engineered to provide insulation and corrosion protection for underground pipes, tanks and structures.

• NO SWEAT Reusable Valve Wraps, a patented, flexible collection of products used with pipe insulation to prevent condensation, mold and mildew.

• Insulation Components, Inc., which manufactures pipe supports and insulated shields. (Henry says these are put on before the insulation and they provide a much faster and more efficient way of insulating around the pipe supports.)

• AGM Industries, Inc., which manufactures capacitor discharge (CD) welding equipment and fasteners.

Helping Others

At 77, Henry is still willing to go to a job site—even early on a Saturday morning—to help a customer. “You develop a relationship,” he says. “You pull some guy out of the fire when he’s stuck on a job site with something that doesn’t work.…I can keep things going, and people understand that and appreciate it.”

Henry’s son, Mark, 50, joined SPD in 2016 after working in the mental health field. He had left a mental health agency to become an independent family counselor. Mark says that being on his own was great; however, the hours were difficult—most people wanted to set appointments after work or school—and he wasn’t generating enough income. “I was meeting with maybe three or four clients a day, but that is really not enough,” he explains.

His father’s work was a lot more flexible as well as more financially rewarding; so, Mark decided to become part of the family business. He still maintains a small counseling practice on the side.

Mark says becoming part of SPD has required him to conquer a big learning curve, but he plans to eventually take over the family business. That is, he adds, if he can get his father to slow down a little bit. “But it’s not easy. The problem is he likes it,” Mark says.

Part of what drives both Henry and Mark is a desire to help other people—and not just through the business. “We are of Christian faith and that has an influence on the way we think and the way we live,” Mark says.

Henry works with several charitable organizations, including groups that assist homeless individuals and former prison inmates as well as some that provide information on alternatives to abortion. Mark is heavily involved in his church as a volunteer and coaches youth sports for his children.

“We kind of consider our job as helping, too,” Mark says. “Sure, we sell our products and we make money, and when we help people there is a better chance that we are going to sell more and make more money. But we enjoy helping people. And my father does it more than anyone.”