On Saturday 20 January, Mr Vicente Andreu Bort, president and founder of the Valencian metal door company Andreu Barberá, S.L., passed away.
Born in Paterna on 6 February 1934 into a humble family, he worked during his adolescence and youth in various trades such as farmer, baker, blacksmith, tanner and electrician.
It was in 1966 when, in partnership with a brother-in-law, he entered the world of metalwork, with practically no experience in the sector, under the name Talleres Vach, in the centre of the same town.
In 1972 he set up on his own, in the same premises, under the new name Talleres Andreu. The invention and patenting, that same year, of a new metal door design enabled him to grow steadily, becoming Puertas Metálicas Andreu, S.L. in 1977 and later, in 1986, Andreu Barberá, S.L., the name it retains to this day.
He married Fina Barberá in 1962, with whom he had four children, José Vicente, Amparo, Mónica and Alejandro, who currently head the group’s companies.
But his business career is only one facet of his life. A lover of animals, he had a great passion for horses, even founding a horse-breeding stud, the Yeguada Andreu. In addition, his involvement and that of his wife Fina in everything related to the life of his beloved Paterna is widely recognised, taking part in and collaborating with a multitude of associations and organisations of all kinds, such as fallas, comparsas, clavarías, brotherhoods, sports clubs, cultural associations, charities, etc.
Vicente Andreu will be remembered as an exceptional man, extraordinarily hard-working, ingenious and a true visionary ahead of his time, but above all for being an excellent person, both personally and professionally.
Rest in peace.
