[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16783]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO BEN SACCO

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KEVIN McCARTHY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 2009

  Mr. McCARTHY of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor 
Bernard ``Ben'' Sacco, a longtime Bakersfield entrepreneur, community 
leader, and friend who passed away on Tuesday, June 23, 2009, at the 
age of 87.
  Ben Sacco was born in a small town outside Salerno, Italy, and 
immigrated to the United States in 1935. Sacco moved to California 
after serving his country in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War 
II, and worked in agriculture in Hanford. In 1947, he and Morris 
Rosenberg founded Sierra Bag Company in Bakersfield to produce 
containers for local growers.
  A devoted recycling advocate, Ben also founded Sierra Iron and Metal 
Company to recycle salvaged metals in 1959. Eventually, it became 
Sierra Recycling and Demolition, which cleans up land for 
redevelopment. On a visit to Italy, Sacco visited a scrap yard near 
Venice and discovered a unique machine--a mobile baler that could 
process twice as much scrap metal in a day as its U.S. counterparts. He 
promptly bought one, and at an age when many are considering 
retirement, Sacco embarked on a new career equipment vendor. He 
introduced the combination shear/baler in the United States in 1987, 
and soon Sierra International Machinery expanded into a major industry. 
Earlier this year, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries honored 
Ben Sacco with a lifetime achievement award for his dedication to 
Sierra International Machinery, LLC. Adding to his list of 
accomplishments, Sacco founded the Italian Heritage Dante organization 
in 1996.
  Ben Sacco is survived by his wife, Eunice Sacco; sons John, Anthony, 
and Phillip; daughters Angela, Aragon, and Laura; and six 
grandchildren. Devoted to serving his community in a variety of ways, 
Ben's death is a great loss for the Bakersfield community, but his 
legacy of dedication to his family, friends, and businesses will always 
be remembered.

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