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48 December 2015 | beautystorebusiness.com Take a moment, now, to think about your surroundings at the hair salon: where did all of these blow-dryers and styling tools come from? Who originally supplied the hair color you used, or the keratin treatment that made your hair so soft and manageable? Who manufac- tured the styling chair in which you are sitting so comfortably? The answer to all of the above could quite possibly be PIBBS Industries. HEAVY HITTER Damiano Petruccelli Sr., president of PIBBS, has been in the beauty busi- ness ever since he and his six siblings immigrated to the United States from Italy in the 1950s. His Italian accent (and passion for his trade) still comes through quite strongly in conversation. "Before [coming to the States], we had a lot of problems in Italy because of the war," Damiano Sr. says. "We were landowners and had two or three farms that, you know, before the war was a profitable thing; before everything was destroyed. We were then forced to emi- grate. We still have a lot of land over there. If you want, I'll give it to you [laughs]." The six brothers and one sister ventured out from their home in Santi Cosma e Damiano (and, yes, Damiano Sr. shares his name with his place of birth) in the province of Lazio, near Rome, and found their way to the bustling streets of New York City. "We all became barbers and hair- dressers in the States," Damiano Sr. explains. "It was the easiest thing to learn to get the license. We had licenses for both men and women." "In 1962, we started to make the men's haircut into hairstyling for men, incorporating the razor cut and razor comb; things like that." The Petruccellis also imported what would become one of the most useful tools in the hair industry, the blow-dryer. "Everybody was looking at us like, 'What's that?' And we said, 'To dry the hair!' Before, it was just roll and set and crew cut. Everything [used] was a machine. Men [were] all machine cut, very little scissor [cuts]," he explains. By 1964, Petruccelli International Beauty and Barber Supply (PIBBS, for short) was born. The company would go on to provide everything a hairdresser would require. When beauty retailer Sally Beauty Supply opened its doors around the same time as PIBBS, the Petruccellis supplied salon furniture to it, and still do to this day, as it remains one of PIBBS' biggest clients. PIBBS also supplies to professional salon products distributor SalonCentric. THE PIBBS EMPIRE There are seven branches within the PIBBS empire: one for each of the siblings. "PIBBS is strictly in the manufactur- ing of salon equipment and furniture. We distribute all over the United States, Canada and Central America," Damiano Sr. says. PIBBS is led by the Petruccellis: Damiano Sr. and his brother Giulio, Dami- ano Sr.'s sons Damiano Jr., Armando and Giancarlo, as well as Gianna and Nancy, and Jimmy and Teresa Formato. There are around 100 people on staff at PIBBS. "Then we have Petruccelli Interna- tional, which is involved in the distribution," he explains. There are about 60 people on staff, led by Damiano Sr.'s brother Timmio Settimio and sister-in-law Edel Petruccelli, along with her daughter Rita Petruccelli. "Turbo Power is strictly involved with accessories such as blow-dryers, curling irons, flat irons, clips to hold the hair and some other products involved with the hair," he says. Damiano Jr. is at the helm of this branch. "Interfashion is strictly in haircoloring and haircare products," he explains. Inter- fashion is run by Petruccelli's nephew, Michael D'Amasco. Its product lines include Avena Beauty and associated brands. Additionally, D'Amasco says, "Interfashion was born on a history of the PIBBS liquid manufacturer when expansion had us move production to Italy in 1994." Armando leads the Color Research Group, which includes the keratin treat- ment collection La-Brasiliana. According to "In this industry, if you don't love what you're doing, you won't go far." —Damiano Petruccelli Jr. Turbo Power Damiano Petruccelli Jr., head of Turbo Power The TwinTurbo 3800 Hair Dryer is powerful but silent. This eco-friendly appliance was designed to reduce noise, reduce drying time and can be recycled. turbopowerinc.com Images courtesy of PIBBS Industries