The history of Codyeco

Codyeco was established in 1976 in Santa Croce Sull’arno (Pisa), one of Italy’s most important tanning districts.

The company was set up to provide the tanning industry with a range of high-quality chemical products and dyes, distinguishable from our competitors by the addition of a strong technical service component and with support from a technical testing laboratory. These features quickly built Codyeco’s reputation and soon lead to the opening of new branches in other important Italian tanning districts: Solofra (Avellino) and Arzignano (Vicenza), providing these with independent technical laboratories.

To complete its range of products and services, Codyeco acquired two companies specialized in the production and marketing of chemical products for skin finishing in 1997. This allowed Codyeco to occupy a position among the top-qualified companies operating in the chemical tanning products industry in Italy.

From this position, the company expanded globally, which led to our presence in over forty countries worldwide. In July 2016, Codyeco acquired Kemiter, a company located in Castelfranco di Sotto (pi) specialized in the manufacturing of finishing products, with a particular focus on liquid dyes.

In 2017, Codyeco itself was acquired by Smit & Zoon, to form a joint operation with a broad product portfolio, including beamhouse chemicals, fatliquors, syntans, dyes, finishing chemicals and a global distribution and service network.

Throughout its history, Codyeco has always aimed to combine the production of the best products with a sustainable way of manufacturing. Between 2016 and 2019, this goal culminated in the Life Biopol project around environment and technology. Life Biopol is co-financed by the European Union as part of the LIFE 2014-2020 programme. The main target is the synthesis of a new class of biopolymers, which represent innovative and eco-friendly alternatives to traditional petrochemical products used in the leather making process. The biopolymers are produced using industrial low-value side streams to enhance the circular economy between different industrial sectors.

Employing more than 100 people in 2019, the company is seeing new expansion in terms of its production, product mix, technology and business status.

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