Manuel Pena, Superior Office Products

It is with great sadness that INDEPENDENT DEALER learned of the passing of industry veteran Manuel (Manny) Pena on June 22.

Manny was born in Santurce, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and he and his family moved to New York City when he was five years old, where he spent his formative years. As a young man he proudly served in the US Navy and was stationed at Virginia Beach. After serving in the Navy he relocated his family to Ballston Spa in Saratoga County, New York, where he took a job at the Tufflite Plastics factory.

It was to be the office products industry where Manny found a home, however. He began his career at Mohawk Office Products in nearby Schenectady, New York in the early 1960s. He was general manager at Union Book in Schenectady for over 17 years before opening Superior Business Products in 1984.

Manny owned Superior until 2001, at which point he passed the company onto his employees through an employee stock ownership plan.

“Having spent almost 50 years in the office supply industry, Manny had a truly