Dialogue between sustainability and design: from textiles to construction in Treviso

DP Company, a new player in sustainable building

The company, born in Treviso and founded by entrepreneur Samuele Netto, already at the helm of a company that has been in the construction industry for 30 years, Edil Color, enters the sustainable building sector as an innovative start-up. 

A pioneer in the recovery of materials for the production and sale of wall coverings with innovative technology, the DP Company promotes solutions for builders and property owners aimed at reducing their impacts on the environment without having to give up the performance quality of their products, contributing significantly to the management of local industrial waste, generating economic and environmental benefits for the entire community.

The ecological transition in the territory

The province of Treviso, the 22nd city nationwide in terms of the number of start-ups, is the territory that has welcomed, since 2019, the DP Company, which, from the moment of its founding, has been committed to reducing its environmental impact with an eye to the life cycle of the materials used.

The Italian thermal-acoustic insulation market, the Company’s core business, is described by founder Netto as rich in opportunities for growth, strategic for introducing more sustainable solutions into the daily lives of citizens. Indeed, he describes that “84% of the exterior walls of the entire building stock of 8.2 billion square meters are in need of upgrading. Buildings also account for about 40 percent of energy consumption and pollution, while the total building envelope that could potentially be upgraded over the next 10 years amounts to about 1 billion square meters” [1]. Seizing the full potential of such a dynamic context, DP Company is achieving great success in the domestic and international markets. The start-up’s products, insulation panels and furniture components made from the recovery of the textile industry, have already been adopted in many sustainable building projects, garnering the appreciation of architects, designers and conscious consumers. 

The originality of DP Company’s approach lies in the valorization of textile waste, transformed into high-quality raw materials, helping to reduce the amount of textile waste going to landfill and to preserve natural resources. Advanced technologies for the separation and treatment of different types of fabric allow the company to ensure maximum efficiency and quality of finished products and to pursue numerous partnerships with local textile companies to take advantage of a constant flow of waste to be used in the recycling process. The strength of this network contributes to the circularity of the system, generating positive impacts on the community with a strong local economic dynamism, based on the synergy between technical skills and scientific knowledge.

A new technology for thermoacoustic insulation of buildings

In the insulation panel sector, which, normally, relies on processing materials that are difficult to recycle, such as rock wool and glass wool, the entrepreneurial drive of founder Samuele Netto has shown that it is possible to combine sustainability and high-quality design.

In fact, in 2019, the entrepreneurial idea was born to create a panel that would meet the market needs for environmentally friendly products: the proposal of DP Company consists of a highly efficient and unique thermal insulation panel derived from the recycling of processing residues from the textile and fashion industry, in particular from cotton, silk, wool, and linen, otherwise destined for pulping.

After judicious waste management, advanced recycling techniques and regeneration of materials, these insulation panels are used for the construction of new buildings and energy retrofits of existing buildings, thus contributing to energy efficiency and reduction of atmospheric CO2 emissions. Thanks to this technology, patented in 2022, the Company has created a product with the same heat-insulating, sound-absorbing, fire-retardant, and water-repellent characteristics that is highly reusable and recyclable, meeting the needs of the most environmentally conscious customers.

Through the incredible synergy between DP Company and key players in the local economic-financial system, including Banca Prealpi San Biagio, the Treviso-Belluno-Dolomiti Chamber of Commerce, Consorzio Veneto Garanzie, and Fidi Impresa and Turismo Veneto, the start-up managed to obtain a €1 million grant from PNRR, the first ever awarded to a private company in Veneto, for the ambitious circular economy project.

After working on the construction and testing of the panel production line in 2023, the start-up presented in November of the same year, additional products and a new patent application for the production of interior design components, such as upholstery for sofas and chairs, blankets and curtains, made according to the same technology as the panels. In fact, at the Ecomondo fair, DP Company baptized its expansion into the green furniture sector, promoting sustainable products that reduce the consumption of natural resources and pollution associated with the production of new materials. The manufacturing of the products has been started in these very first months of 2024, debunking the cliché that, once integrated into production processes, sustainability goes to neglect the design and aesthetics of the business proposal offered. On the contrary, DP Company products are distinguished by their modern and elegant style, meeting the needs of a market that appreciates the mixture of efficiency, sustainability, and also harmony of form.

Thus, it is DP Company’s professionalism and solid ethical foundation that encourages its sustainable entrepreneurship, which contributes significantly to redefining the concept of doing construction, consolidating its presence in the area and demonstrating, above all, that it is possible to combine sustainability and product quality and provide for the waste reduction of as many as two industries, textiles and construction.