In 1931, James A. Cassidy went into business for himself as a manufacturer’s agent, with a couple of lines of “hard materials” such as brick mortar, lime, etc.
The year was one of opportunity in the building industry – The Empire State Building was completed after a 14-month building period and California gets the go-ahead by the U.S. Congress to build the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
In 1945, Cassidy’s son Alan joined the company after serving in World War II and was completing his education at Catholic University. Alan became President in 1959 and sole owner in 1962. It was shortly afterward that Alan acquired the distributorship for Pella Windows & Doors. The company flourished under Alan’s leadership and grew the Pella line. The territory expanded to include the entire state of Maryland, Northern Virginia, Delaware and part of West Virginia.
The third generation of the Cassidy family began in 1974 with Kevin Cassidy coming on board and in 1980, he was joined by his sister, Ann Cassidy. Both enjoyed successful careers in sales before they moved into management roles. Kevin became President in 1987 and took ownership in 1997. In 2006, Stan Stokes became the first non-family member President. Kevin is now the Chairman of the Board.