A freshly painted wall. A coloured plastic bottle on a shelf. A printed label that does not fade after months in a shop window. None of this happens by chance: behind every surface we see there is a chemical decision made much earlier, often by someone who has never held a paintbrush. It is the choice of the right raw material: the resin, the pigment, the additive determine whether a colour will last, whether a paint will resist, whether a coating will really do its job.

It is invisible chemistry, but far from random. And sometimes its roots are more surprising than one might imagine.

A route that begins at the Port of Genoa

Soconomar did not begin in a laboratory, but on a quay. Founded in Genoa in 1951 by the De Michelis family, now in its third generation of company leadership, its initial business was the import of raw materials for the steel and chemical industries, alongside a maritime brokerage service aimed precisely at those who used those raw materials. The sea, even before colour, is the true origin of this story.

From the 1970s onwards, imports progressively expanded to resins, pigments, wax emulsions, additives and masterbatches, following the evolution of an Italian chemical industry that was discovering new application sectors: paints, coatings, plastics, inks, leather finishing, paper converting and adhesives. It is the same journey that many coating supply chains are retracing today: from material suppliers to technical partners capable of guiding formulation choices.

The invisible chemistry that decides everything

A poorly chosen pigment can undo months of product development. A resin that is incompatible with a rheological additive can turn a promising formulation into a batch that has to be discarded. Anyone working with coating formulation every day knows this well: the difference between a product that works and one that disappoints is often determined at raw-material level, even before the process itself.

Binder resins, organic and inorganic pigments, fillers, dispersants, rheological agents, defoamers and water repellents: each of these components has a precise role in the final balance of the coating, including adhesion, chemical resistance, colour yield, light stability and application workability. Working competently across these variables, for sectors as different as paints, plastics, inks, leather, paper and adhesives, requires broad knowledge that few distributors can offer with the same depth.

Sustainability is not a label, it is a formula

In the coatings world, sustainability is played out almost entirely at raw-material level. Water-based systems instead of solvent-based solutions, heavy-metal-free pigments, biodegradable additives, low- or zero-VOC formulations: these are not marketing choices, but chemical decisions made at the formulation bench, long before the product reaches the market.

A concrete example comes from the world of polymerisation, where new generations of polymers, recycled or from renewable sources: products that combine reduced environmental impact with application reliability, responding to the needs of a market that demands both sustainability and continuity of production. Staying up to date with these innovations, testing them and proposing them to customers with technical understanding is part of the value that a specialist distributor can offer, going beyond the simple supply of materials.

The laboratory: where theory meets colour

No raw material enters production without first being put to the test. Soconomar’s in-house laboratory is dedicated precisely to this: coating formulation and the analysis of pigments and dyes through accurate colorimetric testing, to ensure consistent performance in every application. The work includes the development of customised solutions, analysis of pigment performance in different grinding vehicles and thorough evaluation of additives to understand their real impact on the stability and performance of the final formulation.

This is where distribution stops being a simple transfer of material and becomes technical consultancy: valuable support when dealing with complex specifications, introducing a new raw material into an established formulation, or simply trying to explain a colour-performance defect that seems to have no origin.

Next stop: Paint & Coatings Italy 2026

From the Port of Genoa to the benches of a formulation laboratory, Soconomar’s journey clearly reflects how the role of the raw-material distributor has evolved: from importer to a partner that supports, tests and proposes solutions, with the same technical attention today as in the past. The laboratory and in-house technical support remain at the heart of this approach, available to anyone who wants to turn a formulation idea into a reliable product.

We look forward to welcoming you at our stand 728 at Paint & Coatings Italy 2026 to discuss it in person. Registration for the exhibition is free. For more information, visit our website.

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