Chemipal a producer of chemical auxiliaries for the entire tanning cycle based in Arzignano (Vicenza), was founded by Bruno Bernardini in the 1970s and later joined in the leadership by his children Marco and Silvia
Half a century of entrepreneurial and family success for Chemipal Srl, a company based in Arzignano (Vicenza) that produces auxiliaries for the tanning industry, particularly finishing and wet chemicals, but also engaged in the textile, fur, as well as footwear and laminates sectors. Founding it in the 1970s, Bruno Bernardini decided to venture out on his own, moving away from the business he was running with his brother, to pursue his own new ideas. And after some years of study and research, at the end of that ten years he successfully launched two brands, still existing in Arzignano with different factories and entities: the first to be founded was Maber, specialized in the production of household detergents and cosmetics for people, which was followed by the birth of Chemipal, completely integrated in the tanning sector.
Since the beginning of the 2000s, Bruno Bernardini’s two children, Marco and Silvia, have taken over the leadership of the company, and they have had the ability to continue and expand the business, facing the challenges of the market and succeeding in giving it an increasingly entrepreneurial footprint, able to contend with the competition. Chemipal is currently able to supply customers with each and every product at a high-quality standard, as confirmed by the certifications already obtained and those coming between this year and 2024. The laboratories are equipped with high-tech analytical instrumentation to meet in- house inspections and chemical analysis on behalf of customers, which includes gas chromatography, infrared spectrophotometry, mass spectrophotometry, infrared microscopy, UV-VIS, computerized color analysis, and routine qualitative and quantitative analysis using classical analytical techniques. Through know-how, research and development, and technical assistance, the Arzignano company has been able to carve out an important share of the market and has succeeded in gaining the trust of hundreds of customers.
“We have grown gradually,” say Marco and Silvia, who we interviewed at the headquarters, “the philosophy of us siblings has been small steps, so to be concrete. The main goal has been to preserve and improve what our father, who passed away in 2019, left us, and we believe we have succeeded, as the two businesses have been expanded and well structured. Our father always had a great passion for chemistry, as well as for nature, especially mushrooms, plants and wildlife. He started from scratch, creating something new, without copying from others, always challenging himself and bringing forward business realities that were different from them and needed different planning.”
When did the entrepreneurial turnaround occur and how is Chemipal’s business now performing?
“In the late 1970s, when new regulations in the industry forced a distinction of roles. Maber, which was the head company, continued to produce household cleaners and cosmetics, while Chemipal specialized in tanning: until then, production was limited to wet chemicals, then finishing chemicals were added. Among the most popular and specific products is a special putty, used during processing, that ennobles leather, upgrading it from third-fourth to first- second levels. In foreign countries, on the other hand, we use agents, already established in that market, who buy and sell under our brand name and to whom we guarantee assistance.”
What have been the latest significant investments?
“It should be noted that during our management we have consistently implemented new equipment, especially in our in-house research and development laboratories. Last year for Chemipal we invested in two very sophisticated and technologically advanced pieces of equipment, a gas-mass and an IR microscope, which will enable us to work in even greater detail in the manufacture of new products. In the technical department we can count on a staff composed mainly of chemistry graduates and technical directors, who are engaged in real research on a daily basis, aimed at projects for which we ourselves carry out the design and testing according to function and application.”
What are your main certifications?
“The importance Chemipal places on research and study is achieved through UNI EN ISO 9001, which was obtained back in 1999. A significant step forward will take place just this year when, according to plans, we will be able to obtain ZDHC certification – an acronym for “Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals,” – which is an absolute excellence, given that the big international fashion names and designer labels now specifically require it: the process will begin in February, we expect to conclude in a period of 6-8 months, so presumably by the end of the summer. Finally, in 2024 we will also obtain ISO 14001 certification, which is the environmental certification.”
What numbers did you end the last year with and what is the future forecast?
“In 2022 the upward trend from previous years continued. As for the year that has just begun, the uncertainties are the same as for other entrepreneurs, with fears related to issues of various kinds, not always economic in nature. Undoubtedly in the post-Covid period the way of working has changed. What is lacking is scheduling, partly because of warehouses that are increasingly empty due to various fears: once the scheduling was monthly, then we went down to weekly, today we are down to daily; it happens that in the morning you visit a customer who tells you that he doesn’t need anything, then in the afternoon he calls because he needs to have a product for the next day. The other issue, which is common to all companies, especially in the Chiampo Valley tanning district, is the great difficulty in finding personnel, not only graduates and technical experts, but also workers, especially skilled ones.”
Marco e Silvia Bernardini
A matter of skin. It’s not always possible to rationally explain the pleasure and sensations that certain materials convey to us. Just like leather, soft and precious, prestigious and always cool, resistant and intriguing to see and to touch. CHEMIPAL, active for almost 50 years and leader in the chemical sector for leather processing and finishing, aims to amaze with a 2023 collection that is avant-garde both in the products offered and in the technological excellence developed to conceive and create these products. Particularly committed to respecting the environment and developing highly sustainable green technologies and production methods, CHEMIPAL boasts a state-of-the-art plant based in Arzignano. Here, researchers work on new and increasingly advanced solutions, which look both to the future and to respecting the environment and the world we live in.
Founded in 1973, CHEMIPAL produces chemical auxiliaries for the entire tanning cycle, a constantly evolving sector closely linked to the fashion world and the industrial design. Hence the need for development techniques that make the products versatile, highly appealing and with the most natural look possible. The 2023 collection takes up all these elements and aspects and transforms them into products that unleash freshness, energy, ideas and sensations, those that only leather can give. A material that makes touch, as well as appearance, a key point of its charm and the emotions it is able to convey. Treated with the most sophisticated and modern manufacturing techniques, leather becomes wonderful and almost sensual, opening up a real world of possible uses, ranging from a bag to a sofa, from a garment to a suitcase. Whatever its use, it’s always a matter of skin.
