Dimac, headquartered in Barletta, is a leader in the production of dyeing pastes and in the marketing of polyurethane and TPU systems as well as PU additives. Now in its third generation, it boasts over 40 years of history and experience gathered over time
In business for over 40 years, this is a beautiful family story, now in its third generation. It all began thanks to the resourcefulness of the founder Angelo Diterlizzi who, at the end of the Seventies, decided to start the electromechanical business, supported by his sons Pasquale and Francesco Paolo. Today, Francesco Paolo is in turn supported by his three children Fabrizio, Alessio and Roberta who are currently part of the company staff with different roles.
Dimac, based in Barletta, became through the years a reference point in the production of dyeing pastes and in the marketing of polyurethane and TPU systems as well as PU additives. Together with industry-leading partners, the Apulian company is able to offer a wide range of products and raw materials for different sectors, such as footwear, and efficient technical and logistical support. The company is strongly present also in the work & safety sector, for which its technicians offer customized solutions, as they’re real consultants boasting a deep know-how gained over the years on processes and materials such as polyurethane, release agents and additives. “We know how a machine works, how a product reacts and what happens during the injection, dyeing and molding processes” – that’s one of Dimac’s presentation claims. At Simac fair in Milan we interviewed Francesco Paolo Diterlizzi, who told us this success story while comfortably seated at the impressive, elegantly furnished and pleasing company’s stand, where many products were on display. Alongside him were his three children Fabrizio, Alessio and Roberta who met various customers during the three-day show and provided all the necessary information on the range of products they presented.
“Our story – confirms Francesco Paolo – began in 1979 by the will of my father Angelo. He boasted years of experience in the mechanical field, further improved by the training learnt by us children in the electromechanical field. This union allowed to found the electromechanical workshop, whose core business was focused on assistance to shoe and upper factories for the operation, assembly and disassembly of machinery for the manufacture of PU and PVC soles. A few years later we began to collaborate with Ottogalli, which in the eighties was one of the major manufacturers of injection machines.”
“My father had great experience in the footwear sector and we children also started learning the trade right from the start: at 17 years old, once I had completed my studies and following various training courses, I started making repairs on footwear machinery, therefore starting from the lowest point, which allowed me to know the sector well. In the meantime, the PVC sports shoe hub, originally developed in the province of Treviso and then moved to the Marche, was finally located in Apulia, so much that the Barletta district became one of the most important in the world: in the second half of the Eighties, for a fairly long period, up to 1 million shoes a day were produced – a colossal business. In 1985, Dimac was finally established and began to switch from mere electromechanical assistance to approach the commerce world. This step started the process of evolution and shaping of its current corporate structure.”
How did the company evolve?
“Starting from electromechanics and therefore from in-depth knowledge of the machines and then of the use of polyurethane, dyeing paste and release agents, we had specific expertise in the entire process and could guarantee customers high-level, all-round consultancy, thus allowing us to be one step ahead of everyone else. We could customize the finished product based on the customer’s needs, managing to respond positively to those who wanted it more expanded, those who requested more abrasion, those who aimed for anti-staticity. At that point we became an important consultant for machine manufacturers, right in the Barletta area, which for a long time was the reference industrial district in Italy and abroad.”
What particular choices led you to establish yourself on the market?
“We carefully followed the developments of the materials and we realized that PVC, due to a series of problems, which were then partially resolved, was progressively giving up ground to other materials. In the end, in the Nineties many of the large companies in the European Union actually decided to gradually abandon this material, in the meantime we had already moved on to polyurethane and its dyeing process. Subsequently, we began to collaborate with some partners producing release agents, thus completing our “package” of products. We did a lot of research on polyurethane; our intuition was to insist and in the end the results proved us right. The most difficult things are those that few entrepreneurs risk, but in the end, they allow you to excel.”
Did the Diterlizzi family highlight any discovery?
“We have very often anticipated market news, for example my brother Antonio’s intuition allowed us to study a technology, which later became a patent. He launched the idea, then at night, when our working day was over, together we were looking for the best solutions to make it real. We could say that the evolution of our company has marked a piece of the history of Apulian entrepreneurship: it is no coincidence that we were the first, after having followed specific courses in Milan, to bring a collaborative robot to Barletta.”
How did your brand evolve in the 2000s?
“With the beginning of the new century the market has grown considerably, and for us it has been time to evolve: Dimac became not only a representative but also a distributor of the Dow Italia and Repi brands, to which over time Evonik (for release agents and additives for polyurethane) and Aipol (TPU) have been added. Over the years we have further grew stronger and now we work with all the largest Italian and international groups. Thanks to the decades-long relationship strengthened over time with the Repi company, we have gradually become their trusted partners both in terms of safety and other sectors, excluding thermoplastic. As a matter of fact, in addition to the outdoor and safety fields, we also deal with fashion, following a series of footwear manufacturers. In 2014 Dimac sold the company branch devoted to electromechanics, thus being able to commit completely to the sale of polyurethane and the distribution of dyeing pastes and additives for PU/TPU.”
How are you currently organized in the main office in Barletta?
“We have an indoor warehouse of over 1,000sqm, plus further outdoor spaces consisting of yards also for heavy vehicles. The flagship is a large, well-equipped warehouse: thanks to our expertise we are able to predict the needs, so we anticipate orders to be ready to meet, almost in real time, all requests. The risk is having many items in stock, but this is the only way to be competitive. Our strength is logistics, as it’s able to respond to the requests of the district especially in terms of timing, so much that our motto is ‘from 1 kg to 1000 kg in 24 hours.’ Each product requested must reach the customer within 1-2 days tops; if the request comes from our region, we can even carry it out in the same day.”
What are your added values and strengths at the moment?
“Dimac’s strength is experience. Those who choose our company can count on professionalism and seriousness. In all these years, we have built an organized and reliable business, capable of satisfying customer needs, guaranteeing high quality standards and respond to changes with courage and resourcefulness. Our mission is to produce and market only excellent products to meet the needs of our customers, while our vision is to be a specialist and a reliable partner in the sector of raw materials and liquid dyes. What are your relationships with customers? For every problem, we have a solution. For every question, we have an answer. We work quickly to reduce production and distribution times; we operate with precision to offer an accurate and reliable service and we are responsive to meet all their requests.”
FROM POLYURETHANES TO MASTERBATCH DYES: ALL DIMAC PRODUCTS
The Dimac product range can be divided into five main categories. Here they are:
1. Polyurethanes. For more than 35 years Dimac has been agent, distributor and reseller of Dow polyurethanes, making it a reference point in Italy for polyurethane, polyether, polyester and hybrid systems in the footwear sector.
2. Liquid dyes. Repi dyes are specific for coloring expanded and compact polyurethane, both polyether and polyester, PVC and thermoplastic.
3. Additives. This range lets polyurethane to be characterized – dyeing and release systems based on the customer’s production needs. Liquid additives are mainly used as an aid in the performance and protection of the finished product to improve its heat resistance, reduce oxidation and protect it from ageing.
4. TPU. They combine the high properties of polyurethanes with the possibility of transformation through thermoplastic processing technologies. TPUs are high-performance elastomers that guarantee excellent physical-mechanical properties. Furthermore, they can be customized according to the user’s needs.
5. Masterbatches. Dimac’s product portfolio also includes masterbatch colorants for all thermoplastic materials, taking into account all the customer’s process and product needs. They range from masterbatches that can be customized based on the RAL and Pantone range, in black and white, up to masterbatches with special or metallic effects.
Francesco Paolo Diterlizzi at Dimac’s stand at the latest edition of Simac TT
The Diterlizzi family, at the helm of DIMAC: Alessio, Roberta, Francesco Paolo and Fabrizio