At long last, the fight for control of Frankfort, NY-based Northern Safety has ended. Salvatore Longo emerged victorious over his brother, Ronald, in gaining control of the industrial safety supplies company.
Citing management deadlock, Salvatore Longo, president of Northern Safety, had filed court documents in October to dissolve the partnership of the company. He and Ronald, who served as chairman/CEO, had founded the cataloger in 1983. Salvatore bought out Ronald’s share at a New York state court auction on April 29.
In a statement, Salvatore Longo said, “We are very excited about the future of Northern Safety. We plan to expand our business through additional product lines, increased circulation, telesales efforts, additional distribution centers, and acquisitions. The company’s potential for growth is unlimited.”
The Longo brothers were the sole shareholders of the company, which employs more than 175 and has estimated sales of $50 million. A third Longo brother, Michael, serves as vice president of operations but does not have an ownership stake in the business.
According to the court documents filed last year, “The personal and business relationship between the two has dissolved and has led to internal and irreconcilable disputes within Northern…The internal dissension has risen to the level that employees of Northern are divided as to which of the directors/shareholders to follow and abide by.”
The Longos had tried to resolve their differences prior to the filing, but after each meeting it became obvious the brothers had diverging philosophies as to how the business would operate going forward. The court documents stated that the “two are deadlocked with regard to a multitude of corporate decisions.”