Vince Demana, a Springfield businessman who took his father’s local scrap yard and turned it into a steel company with multiple locations in Ohio, has died. He was 72.

Demana remained as CEO of Benjamin Steel Co. until 2005. In 1998 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and he died Monday at his home after battling the disease for years.

“You’re never completely ready,” said his son, Nick Demana, who’s served as president of Benjamin Steel since 1999. “If there’s ever a situation where it’s a blessing and it’s a relief, Dad deserved to move on and be with Mom.”

Vince Demana was preceded in death by his wife, Kay, in 2012.

Nick Demana remembered his father as a hard-working, street-smart businessman who also believed in treating his employees well and having fun.

“Even though he worked hard, he also played hard,” Nick Demana said. “He was comfortable talking to any kind of person.”

Benjamin Steel, which supplies steel and steel products to manufacturers, employs more than 150 people. Throughout the 1980s, it grew to include additional facilities in Dayton, Lima and Mansfield.

Vince Demana originally purchased his father’s scrap business in 1962. In 1969, he bought Benjamin Iron and Metal Co. and merged operations.

“He was very proud of our accomplishments, his accomplishments, and looked forward to passing it on to the third generation,” Nick Demana said.

Nick Demana runs the business today alongside his sister, Teresa, the company’s corporate secretary and director of communications.

Visitation for Vince Demana will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Conroy Funeral Home, with a burial mass at 11 a.m. Monday at St. Teresa Catholic Church. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery.