José Miguel Rovira was a Puerto Rican industrialist and co-founder and main driving force behind Rovira Biscuits Corporation during its formative years.

Early years Rovira was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He was the eldest son of José María Rovira Viza and Mercedes Fernandez. José María Rovira was a Spaniard from Barcelona who had come to Puerto Rico to work as a bookkeeper but eventually established himself as a shopkeeper and who later also purchased a small bread and sweets bakery in 1929 in Ponce.Rovira. Buenas Tareas. Retrieved 23 December 2011.

Career In 1937, the young José Miguel Rovira, who had studied chemistry, started working at his father's bakery and worked on changing it into a cracker manufacturing enterprise.Rovira History. Rovira Biscuits Corporation. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 23 December 2011. During the 1940s, and throughout the Second World War, Rovira improved the company's methods to make it more productive. With the death of his father in 1950, José Miguel became the chairman of the family's biscuits manufacturing business. In the 1950s he expanded into a distribution chain that further increased revenue and solidified its position in the cracker manufacturing business.Rovira History. Rovira Biscuits Corporation. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 23 December 2011.

In 1960 José Miguel contracted with a marketing firm to re-design the logo of the company's cracker containers.Rovira. Buenas Tareas. Retrieved 23 December 2011. While he encountered challenges in the 1960s through 1980s,El Grupo Rovira se prepara para permanecer en el mercado 80 años más. El Nuevo Dia. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1 November 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2011. including a five years legal battle against Keebler which Rovira won,624 F.2d 366 (207 U.S.P.Q. 465) Keebler Company v. Rovira Biscuit Corporation Nos. 79-1483, 79-1484. United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Retrieved 23 December 2011.El Grupo Rovira se prepara para permanecer en el mercado 80 años más. El Nuevo Dia. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1 November 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2011. under the leadership of José Miguel the company continued to expand into new markets in the United States, the Caribbean, and South America.Rovira History. Rovira Biscuits Corporation. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 23 December 2011.

Death and honors José Miguel Rovira died in 1993.Rovira. Buenas Tareas. Retrieved 23 December 2011. He is honored at Ponce's Park of Illustrious Ponce Citizens.Commerce and Business. TravelPonce. Retrieved 25 December 2011.

See also

Ponce, Puerto Rico List of Puerto Ricans

References