Feature Story October 2007

Diesel-powered Family Ties
By Chary Southmayd

Honoring the family name means everything to Constantine (Tino), Richard and Adib Mastry. Talking with these brothers, who are successful business partners at the helm of Mastry Engine Center in St. Petersburg, the conversation always finds its way back to family. Clearly, nothing is more important. Of course, making boats go fast with maximum performance could come in at a close second.

Founded by their father D. Eugene Mastry in 1962, Mastry Engine Center epitomizes the American dream. The Lebanese businessman had owned a huge business in Belize before selling that business in 1961 and starting anew with his family - wife, Celma, and 8 children - in St. Petersburg. He had amassed a sizeable fortune in Belize. To Gene Mastry, his word was his bond. He taught his sons that you must always be honest in business. Not everyone subscribes to that theory. According to Tino, bad investments that others made for Mastry when he arrived in St. Petersburg depleted every bit of his fortune. He was financially broke, but Gene Mastry’s spirit could not be broken. “My father taught me that there is nothing you can do about yesterday, so don’t dwell on things,” said Tino, the oldest son who is company CEO and president, as we chatted in his office surrounded by family photos. “My father taught me that instead of worrying, look for solutions.”

In 1962, Gene Mastry borrowed $33,000 from his father to start Mastry Engine Center. Today the company boasts $40 million in revenue and a solid reputation for excellence. Gene passed away in 1991, leaving his business in the very capable hands of three sons who had chosen to also make the marine engine and parts business their own. The fourth brother, Michael, is a physician. None of the four sisters, Julie, Claudette, Celmita and Rosalie, whom Tino describes as very strong women, is involved with the business, though they devote time to charitable causes so meaningful to this family.

The Mastry children are the product of what was an arranged marriage between Eugene and Celma. They met when Celma was just 14 years old. They were married for 47 years. Founder of the Celma Mastry Ovarian Cancer Foundation along with her children, the matriarch lost a brave struggle with ovarian cancer in 2004. She left behind a legacy of supporting numerous philanthropic causes, among them PARC, CASA, the American Heart Association and the Florida Orchestra. Celma was a patient and caring woman who instilled core family values in her children and grandchildren. Tino recalls one family gathering during which Celma reminded members of the younger generation who were headed out on the town for the evening, “Remember you are associated with the Mastry family. Do not tarnish the name.”

Each of the three brothers brings his own unique ability and talent to Mastry Engine Center. Richard, 57, who is company vice president, describes the three brothers as “the parts of a wheel.” He cites Tino’s knack for diplomacy as his strength. Early on, Tino taught his father the importance of establishing an organized business. Like so many entrepreneurs, Eugene ran his company as a mom and pop operation, from cash register to pocket, concerned only about covering expenses. When Tino came on board in 1972, he had a different vision. Armed with a degree in mathematics from Auburn University and having developed business information systems while employed in tech support at GTE, Tino convinced his father to organize his expenses and revenue stream.

“My strength is to see past tomorrow,” Tino said. “I’m always looking five years down the road … where we’re going to be.”

When Tino and Richard came on board full time, they were given 24 percent ownership in the company. “I was 13 when I started working part-time with dad – assisting the mechanic as an apprentice,” said Richard. “I learned so much about parts, and started assembling.” Richard shares that hands-on know with their younger brother, Adib, 44, who became a partner, along with Celma, when Gene passed away.

Tino readily acknowledges that his younger brothers’ strength is their ability to spot niches in the market and go for them. “Adib and I are always looking for new ideas,” agrees Richard. “I spent a lot of time with manufacturers. I saw the need for diesel engines in sailboats 31 years ago and little-by-little we started replacing what they had. Eighteen years ago they said you could never get diesel to go fast. We were way ahead of the competition on that.”

Mastry Engine Center is today the premier marine engine and parts distributor for Yanmar Diesel Engines. The company works with more than 140 authorized dealers in the U.S., Bahamas, and the Caribbean. In 2000, the growing company relocated to its 80,000 square foot headquarters in the Jungle Terrace district of St. Petersburg.

Adib, who has assumed responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the company as COO, still thoroughly enjoys being in the trenches, putting things together and checking the performance. He has worked in engine prep, parts, and sales and engineering. “My strength is in the performance of engines … getting the high performance boat market to accept diesel engines. I’m a hands-on guy,” he said. “It (running the day-to-day) ties me down a bit more, but I still sneak out one day a week to get out on the water.” He spends a good deal of that time with his 12-year-old twin boys. “They’re interested in boats. We’re on the water a lot,” he said. Again, the conversation has steered from business to family. “My parents taught us that what’s most important is family and to do the right thing,” Adib said. “My parents were great people – nothing but good.”

In a strong Lebanese family, the first son of the first son is a very important position. Like his father, Tino is the first son and carries his grandfather’s name, Constantine. As such, Tino was always expected to watch out for his brothers and sisters, bearing much responsibility, which he accepted with ease, particularly after their father’s death. So, what makes his self-described patient, good listener angry? Without hesitation he answers, “Someone hurting any of my siblings or grandkids.”

Uncompromised customer satisfaction has sustained the company’s fine reputation through the years, even in the face of declines in the marine industry.

“We have always hung our hat on customer satisfaction. We work on a relationship basis,” Tino said. “That was my father’s strength.” Vital to good customer relations is the ability to listen, Tino adds, especially when a customer is less than pleased. “When in a confrontational situation, always take two breaths before you answer,” Tino said. “You need to listen to what the customer is saying, so you can repeat it back to him and then ask, ‘Is that right?’ When he says ‘yes’ you have turned a negative into a positive.”

Gene Mastry taught his sons to never give up, a lesson that carried him through the early lean years when he worked in a package store at night to buy groceries.
“He used to say that if you have money problems, you have no problems, because you can always get a job,” Tino said. “You have to pick your head up, stay with something and be happy at what you do.”

It was a lesson the sons learned through Gene’s example. All too often, when family businesses are handed over to the next generation, turmoil erupts and differences divide. The Mastry family is proving that with a solid foundation of love, respect and giving others their due, family businesses can continue to thrive. “I couldn’t have done this without my brothers and my dad,” Tino said. “I had ideas, but we all had to execute them.”

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