Gino Cavallini

1942 - 2021

Gino Cavallini
Aug. 23, 1942 - Oct. 4, 2021
Resident of Saratoga
He rose from polishing molds in his garage to becoming the owner and president of Trend Plastics, a major custom injection molding firm headquartered in San Jose.
Gino Cavallini, the former President who helped build a custom molding and plastic injection empire, passed away in Saratoga on October 4th, after battling with leukemia for just over a year. He was 79.
A farmer's son who grew up in the small mountain town of Frontone, Italy, had more ambitious plans for himself. He left home at a young age to study injection molding in Milan. He then began his molding career at a small firm in Canada, where he would learn the ins and outs of the industry.
Several years later Gino vacationed to San Francisco to visit with his uncle. Upon arrival he saw two familiar faces, one being his uncle and the other Maria Grazia Zepponi, an old friend Gino grew up with as a child. The two of them were notorious known in their hometown for their childhood shenanigans. Not too long after being reconnected, Gino and Maria ended up getting married, ultimately relocating to the Bay Area.
Newlywed and now living in the Bay Area, Gino continued to build his molding expertise by working for various small local molding companies by day and polishing molds at his home in the evenings. After years of disciplined saving, numerous start-up failures, and countless other obstacles, Gino and his wife founded Tool-Tech, a mold manufacturing company. After running Tool-Tech for several years, Gino's ambitions drove him to vertically integrate within the molding space, and create another company to deliver injection molding, Trend Plastics.
Trend Plastics, a custom injection molding company, worked alongside Tool-Tech. The two companies experienced tremendous growth under Gino's management, working with notable clients such as Apple, Atari, HP and Oakley. The Companies were eventually sold in the late 1990's, with over 1,000 employees.
During his retirement, Gino picked up skiing and golf, two sports he had always been curious about in his youth, but never had the time to pursue. Despite picking these hobbies up later in life, Gino quickly excelled at both sports, and was even featured on the cover of a ski magazine at one point in time.
He was a loving husband, a dedicated father, a devoted grandfather, and a dear friend to many. Gino is survived by his wife, Maria; his two children, Ted and Loredana; and ten beautiful grandchildren.
Funeral Details: Tuesday, October 12, 2021, Viewing at 9:00-9:45 AM at Alameda Family Funeral Home, 12341 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Rd, Saratoga, CA.
Church Service: St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception 10:30 AM Mass 219 Bean Avenue Los Gatos, CA. Burial at 12:00 PM Alta Mesa Cemetery 695 Arastradero Rd Palo Alto, CA.


View the online memorial for Gino Cavallini