“Today we are placing ourselves in senior management positions, but we must never lose the essence of being women.” And so it is that Saray López projects her image, that of an elegant Hispanic woman, mother, wife, housewife, and at the same time, president of Yaras Corp., a subsidiary company of Valero Inc., the main company that manufactures and repairs shopping carts in Puerto Rico.
This young businesswoman of Venezuelan origin arrived in Puerto Rico at the age of 18. She decided to move to Isla del Encanto because she agreed to marry her boyfriend Roberto Fuenmayor, who had started a shopping cart repair business with his parents. Since that time, Saray has shown her talent when it comes to making decisions and, relying on her faith, she has courageously faced the challenges that her life has placed before her.
“I had no friends, I didn’t even know how to drive and the hardest thing was that I didn’t see my parents for three years,” Saray recalls in a dialogue with Abasto Magazine.
Despite a difficult start outside of her maternal home, to this day Saray has no regrets about making that decision. So it is that 20 years later, with two children, two companies and the newborn brand of Spartan shopping cart tires, Saray López is an example of a successful woman in business and at home.
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When she started working with her husband, she took charge of the business administration, while Roberto dedicated himself to the operations area of
Besides her abilities to manage the company, interior design studies gave Saray the concept of the importance of image. She understood that in addition to the quality of work in the manufacture and repair of shopping carts, it was essential to making herself known to position the company’s name and expand in the business. And in this field, her ideas have been fundamental for the growth of the image of Valero Inc., Yaras Corp., and its new brand, Spartan.
The day to day of the young businesswoman begins early and so to effectively manage her time, the night before she tries to leave everything ready for breakfast, even the cups with the sugar to serve the coffee. In her routine, after her children Valentina and Roberto Andrés leave with her father for school, Saray dedicates time to prayer without fail.
Thus, with that positive spiritual charge, Saray López arrives at her office at Yaras Corp., where a team of 11 people, mostly women, manage the administrative area of
SARAY LOPEZ LEADS Spartan shopping cart tires
Now, she has in her hands the development of the new Spartan brand, a project with which her husband Roberto surprised her.
“Here what we do in the company, Roberto is the most visionary, he is the one who is always dreaming and thinking about how he is going to make the new cart, what he is going to present at the next Expo and he presents the idea to me and the creation begins. Once everything is created, then my role is to make it known, but I never thought we would develop a line of wheels”, said Saray.
The businesswoman remembers that with some concern she told Roberto, “are you serious, are we going to have a wheel factory? Because we will complicate ourselves if we do more things, are you aware of that?” But the Spartan wheel factory was born despite the addition of other complications, the Covid pandemic, and the devastating passage of Hurricane Maria through Puerto Rico.
However, these challenges have not broken Saray’s will. Focused on strengthening the company’s image, in the midst of the pandemic, they presented the exclusive antimicrobial powder coating technology for shopping carts on the island and launched the brand of Spartan industrial wheels, a high-quality Puerto Rican product.
Saray López is a successful businesswoman with style, vision, and action. She is a mother and wife who takes care of her family in the environment of her Christian faith; She is also very aware of the value of women and what they can contribute to the community.
Thus, five years ago she became involved with Renovate, a non-profit organization where women of all levels meet regularly, both in person and virtually, to share and learn from each other’s experiences. With the funds they collect in the organization, Saray says that they are used to help others who have needs, “because we must not forget that having is not only for you or yours, but to be able to bless other people.”