Company co-owners to receive Vanden Brul award

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Ronald Ricotta and Michael Nuccitelli, co-owners of Century Mold Inc. and Parlec Inc.

The co-owners of Century Mold Inc. and Parlec Inc. first met 34 years ago, have been business partners for 22 years, and have never had a single argument, said Ronald Ricotta about Michael Nuccitelli. “We are each other’s support system in good times and bad, in good decisions and bad decisions. Common sense prevails—we don’t blame each other if something goes wrong; we just put our heads together and solve the problem.”

In recognition of their business success in the Rochester community, Saunders College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology has named Ricotta and Nuccitelli as recipients of the 2014 Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award. They will be honored at an award luncheon on April 22 at Oak Hill Country Club.

It was 1992 when Ricotta (’79, accounting) and Nuccitelli (’84 Clarkson, engineering) acquired Parlec, a worldwide manufacturer of tooling and presetting solutions with current sales of $27 million, 150 local employees and 4,000 patented products that are used in various industries including aerospace. Ten years later they purchased Century Mold Inc., which manufactures parts for the automotive industry—fans, radiators, engine and HVAC components—that are used on 80 percent of the vehicles produced in North America. The company logs sales of $140 million, employs 150 workers locally, with a total of 800 workers at six locations.

“We are delighted to recognize Ron Ricotta and Mike Nuccitelli of Century Mold and Parlec for their contributions to the Rochester community,” said dt ogilvie, dean of Saunders College. “Their history of growing Century Mold and Parlec embody the principles that Mr. Vanden Brul espoused. They have grown their businesses to more than 1,000 employees and compete on a global basis.”

Nuccitelli, who serves as president and CEO of the Perinton-based Parlec, said Century and Parlec have increased sales by a multiple of five times since they assumed ownership of the businesses.

“As partners, we share the same core business and personal values, which is why our partnership not only works but why it thrives,” said Nuccitelli. “This is most important for success. Our philosophy is to do the basics better than anyone else and we have shown that this strategy is most effective. Most people will tell you that having partners is difficult, but I can say that I am the luckiest person in the world to have a partner like Ron.”

Ricotta, president and CEO of the Ogden-based Century Mold, said owning two manufacturing companies hasn’t always been easy.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, especially during the recession in 2008 when people weren’t buying cars. This affected us at Century Mold where we had to cut our staff to less than half, reduced pay, turned the heat down, and removed every other light bulb to survive.

“That’s one of our keys to success; I think we do a reasonable job of facing reality. At lot of times when faced with economic problems, many businesses are slow to react.”

Ricotta said they are very humbled to receive the Vanden Brul award from RIT—and to be honored together is even more special.

“Mike is my Rock of Gibraltar and I like to think I am his. I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

The Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award was created in 1984 and annually goes to a successful individual who developed a business that improved the Rochester economy or whose innovative management skills have changed the course of an existing business.

Past Vanden Brul recipients include Robert Morgan, CEO, Morgan Management LLC; the late Ernest J. Delmonte Sr., E. J. Del Monte Corp.; Douglas Brush and Jim Brush, Sentry Group; William K. Pollock, Optimation Technology; and Kitty Van Bortel, Van Bortel Group.

To attend the Vanden Brul luncheon, contact Dana Pierce at 585-475-2199 or dpierce@saunders.rit.edu.

Note: One of nine colleges at RIT, Saunders College of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB International) and enrolls more than 1,200 undergraduate and graduate students. Saunders College and its entrepreneurial Venture Creations Incubator work in partnership with RIT’s Albert J. Simone Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship to integrate business education with RIT’s world leading technical and creative programs. Graduate programs include Master of Business Administration, MBA-Accounting, Executive MBA and master’s degrees in finance and administration.