The Maltby family name made its debut on the market in 1919 when Edward Maltby founded Maltby International. Originally established as a wholesale ball bearing company, Maltby eventually developed to take on a much greater range of mechanical products. Since the 1940s, the company has principally operated on the periphery between the chemical and mechanical industries, providing chemical solutions to mechanical problems.
Philo Jefferson “PJ” Harvey, a lawyer by day, an angel investor by hobby, and a serial entrepreneur at heart, saw the potential in Maltby International. Nearing the end of his life, Edward Maltby sold his brainchild to PJ Harvey, the man whose lineage would carry the company for several generations thereafter. Under PJ, the business was a steady source of employment for his son-in-law and his six grandchildren. During his twenty years of ownership, Harvey’s income from Maltby managed to fund the higher education pursuits of all but one of his grandchildren, who elected not to attend college.
When his leadership had run its course, Harvey passed the company down to his son-in-law, Joseph “Joe” Pinto, who incorporated the enterprise as “The Maltby Company,” upon accepting ownership in 1982. Under Joe, Maltby saw both its peaks and its troughs. Less than ten years after assuming leadership, the company enjoyed seven-figure annual revenues. Less than a decade later, his children were left in shock at just how quickly their father’s mental state had declined. After falling ill with dementia, Joe Pinto had driven the company into debt.
Around the turn of the century, his eldest daughter, Gina Pinto, took over ownership and operation of Maltby. To bail out the company, my mother poured several thousands of dollars of personal investment into the business. After all, the Maltby Company had been in her family since the year she was born, had paid for her college tuition, and had demonstrated an extensive history of market potential. When Gina assumed leadership, the company’s financial situation was so dire that she was forced to cut all but four product lines: the Carburetor and Throttle Body Cleaner, the Non-Chlorinated Brake and Clutch Cleaner, the Premium Rust Dissolving Penetrant, and the California Premium Rust Dissolving Penetrant. Gina has since decided to cut all but the latter two product lines due to poor market performance.
