Paul De La Torre, CPO, CPed, and his brother, Edward De La Torre, have been named the Small Business Persons of the Year for the areas of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the state of Pennsylvania by the Small Business Administration (SBA).
According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the brothers have expanded what was originally their parents’ home-based bracing shop to eight clinical offices plus an administrative and fabricating headquarters. In the original business, Paul De La Torre helped his father Manuel fabricate metal orthoses while the boys’ mother sewed corsets and braces and managed their finances. Paul continued his industry education at the Prosthetics-Orthotics Center at the University of Chicago, Illinois. Edward joined the business in 1990 with goal of expanding it. Edward studied architecture and managed a Ralph Lauren store before joining the family business. Now, the business has 78 employees, according to the Tribune-Review, and treats about 12,000 patients per year.
On May 19, the SBA will hold its 46th annual National Small Business Week celebration in Washington DC, where it will announce the names of the National Small Business Persons of the Year.
