Valley Forge founders pass along presidency to the second generation

Home Textiles Today Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 11/18/2011 11:26:53 AM

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. - Valley Forge Fabrics, the more than 30 year-old family-owned supplier of decorative textiles for the hospitality industry, is passing the torch to the next generation.

Founders Daniel and Judy Dobin recently hosted a companywide celebration to announce that their children -- Diana and Michael -- have been named co-presidents.

Still very much active members of the company, the Dobins will still maintain "vital roles" at Valley Forge, the company noted.

"This transition from acting like a president of a company to being formally named and installed as the president has been in the works for several years," said Dan Dobin. "A quiet transition has been taking place and the time came to make it official. While Judy and I will not be stepping down anytime soon from our regular day-to-day responsibilities, we are delighted to see the torch passed from generation to generation. Like the rest of our industry, we expect great things from Diana and Michael and look forward to a bigger and brighter future for our company and our industry."

Siblings Diana and Michael together have been raised in the family business and each bring "tremendous passion and vitality to Valley Forge," the company said.

Diana brings 18 years of experience and Michael has garnered 14 years of experience, both of them having held international postings in Asia, sales management of various domestic and international territories, product development and team building.

Diana's current responsibilities include direct supervision of all sustainability, design, graphics and public relations; Michael is, at the moment, responsible for direct supervision of all product development and sales of Valley Forge's expanding and international textile manufacturing business. Both share the responsibility of strategy, planning and business development.

Over the last few years, Diana and Michael have gradually taken leadership responsibilities as they have worked to re-brand Valley Forge as a leader in sustainable textiles while still maintaining the company's position as a major producer of decorative fabrics for hospitality.