After graduation from New Philadelphia High School in 1961, Ted entered a co-op program with the Timken Co. and graduated with honors from Tri-State College (now Trine University) with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. In 1976 he co-founded a high voltage electrical manufacturing company. That company developed a second Automotive Division dedicated to manufacturing automotive and truck water pumps and became ASC Industries Inc. Swaldo then bought the company, sold off the electrical division and turned ASC Industries into the largest automotive water pump company in the world with factories in Spain, Mexico, China, and corporate headquarters in Green, Ohio.After he sold the company in 2007, his two months of retirement didn't sit well with him so he started Gervasi Vineyard in Canton to give him something to do. In less than a year, he and his family transformed the picturesque 55-acre farm into an award-winning Winery, an outstanding Italian Bistro, a Marketplace and an outdoor Pavilion.
Since opening in 2010 they have added a Conference Center, Gervasi Village with six (6) Italian designed Villas (recently picked by USA Today as the best wine country hotel in USA), a new state of the art computerized Winery, and a pub style restaurant called "The Crush House". In December 2018 he added a new distillery called “The Still House”. It is a coffee shop by day and a cocktail lounge by night. In May 2019 the new “Casa” hotel will open.
The property has become a "Destination" and attracts over 200,000 visitors annually.
In 2014 he continued in the hospitality business by constructing another new restaurant in Green, Ohio called "The Twisted Olive".
A former member of the North Canton Jaycees and the North Canton Rotary, Swaldo was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship by Rotary International. He has been associated with the World Champion Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps for over 34 years, serving as Executive Director for ten years.
In 1987 Ted was named a Tri State College Outstanding Alumni. And in 2017, New Philadelphia High School also recognized him as an “Outstanding Alumni”.
Ted has always been active in his community and has served on the Hall of Fame Festival Committee, the Board of Advisors at the University of Mount Union, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Walsh University. In 2017, Ted was Co-Chairman of the Stark County United Way Campaign with his son Scott, and is currently chairing the Centennial Plaza committee.