Paraco Gas Marks 50th Anniversary In Business

This year marks the 50th anniversary for Paraco Gas, now based in Rye Brook, N.Y. The organization takes immense pride in having reached this significant milestone, crediting its success to its current and former employees, along with all its valued and long-standing customers.

Pat Armentano founded the firm Patsems, a welding and industrial gas supplier, in Mount Vernon, N.Y. in 1968. The youngest of 10 children, he was known as generous, kind, and extremely personable. His success in business was in part due to his ability to connect with people and bring out the best from all of those who worked with him.

Despite lacking a formal higher education, he was a natural and talented entrepreneur and continued to grow his company throughout the 1970s. In 1979, on instinct and with limited resources, he purchased Paraco Gas, a small propane marketer in Peekskill, N.Y. In 1986, the company acquired the assets of Suburban Propane on Long Island, which transitioned the business from a mom-and-pop to a corporate operation. Over the next 20 years, working with his wife and sons, the elder Armentano grew the company into one of the nation’s leading propane retailers.

Today, Paraco is recognized as the 10th-largest propane retailer nationally and largest privately held propane company in the Northeast. It serves 120,000 customers in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont from 27 distribution locations. The company has grown aggressively through acquisitions and is proud to now have more than 500 employees.

Since 1987, Joseph Armentano, Pat’s son, has led and operated the business as CEO and has been instrumental in transitioning the company to a leading multistate corporation. As the company positions itself for continued expansion through acquisitions and organic growth, Christina Armentano, Pat’s granddaughter, will lead that growth as executive vice president of sales and business development.

While the company gears up for the next 50 years, the Paraco team reflects on values and life lessons that the elder Armentano instilled in his children and grandchildren. He stressed a strong work ethic, personal responsibility, and respect for oneself and others. Paraco continues to be guided by the values he initially brought to the business and looks forward to serving its customers in the many years ahead.