Video: Family tree helps Vip Rubber grow and prosper

Vip Rubber Co. Inc. in La Habra, Calif., is an old time family company success story in every sense.

Now in its third generation of family members working at the rubber product maker, the company is still growing strong and adding to its arsenal of technology.

Howard Vipperman is president and looking forward to retirement in the not-too-distant feature.

His father, Howard “Big Vip” Vipperman Sr., founded the company in 1961 in Anaheim. He originally had worked at Kirkhill Rubber Co. in downtown Los Angeles from 1946-58. That was followed by a short stint at a plastics company until three years later he got a chance to re-open a rubber shop called Powers Rubber that had gone bankrupt. That was the birth of Vip Rubber.

“Many times we would be watching television and trimming molded parts that could be shipped out the next day,” the younger Vipperman said. “It was really the Golden Age in the 1960s, growing up in the rubber industry.”

After four years in the Navy, Vipperman returned to the firm in 1974 and worked with his father until the company founder died in 1979, and he took over as president.

“We managed to grow and continue to grow to this day,” he said.

Vip Rubber moved from Anaheim to La Habra in 1994 and currently employs about 130. Its capabilities in rubber include extrusion, molded and calendered sheets, serving a variety of industries, including aerospace and defense. In plastics, Vip does extruded shapes and some sheet goods.

“I really think silicone is going to be the way to go,” Vipperman said. “It's a growing part of our business, but there's a lot of technology going on there. We're not on the bleeding edge of technology, but we're close to it. We try to stay ahead of the game.”

And over the years, the company's roster has been well-represented by family members.

Big Vip's wife, Bernardyne, worked at the company until her death in 2005.

“She was adored by many and was one of the most giving and kind people I have ever been honored to know, let alone be named after,” said Bernardyne “Deena” Campana. She is a granddaughter of the founder and current vice president and heir apparent to become president when Vipperman retires.

Howard and Bernardyne Vipperman had three children besides Howard Jr. Kathy LeClair is the chief financial officer, having been with the company since her college days. Winnie—Deena's mother—worked for a short while at the firm, while the late Ramona did not work for Vip Rubber, but was a corporate attorney for Disney.

Deena's father, Dean Gillespie, is well known in the rubber industry and has worked at Vip for more than 50 years, while Kathy's husband, Tom LeClair, is vice president of sales.

Others from the third generation working at Vip Rubber include Kathy's children Lisa Perez, in accounts payable; Cindy LeClair, vice president of marketing; and Stacey Senne, ITAR specialist. In addition, Lisa's husband, Albert Perez, is aerospace manager, and Peter Joneleit, Howard's son-in-law, is in outside sales.

Campana said the company recently became an approved supplier for Boeing specifications B1-57 and B1-72.

“We all are working very hard for the future of this company and our legacy,” she said. “This is a huge accomplishment, and I am so proud to be part of such a strong and flexible team.”

Campana's background is in mathematics, along with an MBA, so she said she originally gravitated toward computers and spent the early part of her career running her own software companies. Vip Rubber initially hired her to write a small software program that led to the ERP system its uses today.

“As vice president and future president of this company, my vision is to grow our business based on the principles and values given to me by my predecessors,” she said. “My mission is to continually improve our products and be the best at serving our customers' needs.”

 This video and story came from an industry roundtable that Rubber & Plastics News hosted at R.D. Abbott Co. Inc.'s headquarters in Cerritos, Calif. To see complete coverage, including more videos, stories, exclusive online content and a photo gallery, go to www.rubbernews.com/California.