DetraPel is known as an advanced materials company that specializes in synthesizing and manufacturing PFAS-Free protective coatings. Last month, DetraPel announced the rebranding of its industrial pillar with the launch of Impermea Materials, an advanced materials coating company.
Impermea Materials is currently working with four of the largest paper suppliers in the world to serve their industry-leading CPG customers who have been aiming to offer premium and environmentally friendly packaging options to their increasingly eco-conscious customer bases.
To learn more about the companies, Pulse 2.0 interviewed DetraPel and Impermea Materials CEO and founder David Zamarin.
David Zamarin’s Background
When David Zamarin was 15 years old, he sold his first business – which was used by one of Impermea Material’s competitors.
“Upon selling my business, I began researching nanotechnology while attending the University of Pennsylvania. While there I studied polymer chemistry and shadowed researchers, I came up with our initial minimum viable product. After a few years, I earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Concentration in Entrepreneurship from Babson College,” said Zamarin.
As the head of both companies, Zamarin spearheads sales and he is responsible for team culture and for creating shareholder value. Zamarin is often very hands-on and therefore involved in operations, growth, and strategic initiatives.
Favorite Memory Working For DetraPel
What has been Zamarin’s favorite memory working for DetraPel?
“Some of my favorite memories include having to work all night to get machines fixed because we were under pressure to get customer orders out,” replied Zamarin. “Though I’d prefer a peaceful fulfillment of those orders, nothing beats the satisfaction of learning new skills in order to fix pneumatic and electronic problems with new equipment, then seeing it run smoothly.”
Challenges Faced In Building The Company
What are some of the challenges Zamarin faced in building the company?
“The general climate always affects business, but entrepreneurs specifically need to learn to adapt. For us, the challenge has always been slow regulatory tailwinds that have stalled companies from making a change to more sustainable chemistries. Visionary companies will sometimes take a risk, but many companies in our target industries do not embrace change until they have to,” Zamarin answered. “In our case, we offer the best-performing coatings and happen to be sustainable and PFAS-Free. Many companies have used toxic PFAS chemicals despite knowing the negative effects, and are only now making changes due to the regulatory environment changing rapidly banning PFAS chemicals from the industry.”
Core Products
What are DetraPel’s core products and features? DetraPel produces oil and grease-resistant coatings, moisture and oxygen-barrier coatings, and bakery-release coatings for paper and food packaging. And the company also offers coatings that provide stain resistance, fire retardancy, and UV resistance for textiles. All of their coatings provide exceptional performance that allows you to replace plastic food packaging, or use your fabrics comfortably without worrying about them failing.
“Oh, and they are also non-toxic, eco-friendly, PFAS-Free, Fluorine-Free, Plastic-Free, and so much more,” Zamarin added.
You can see David Zamarin pitching on Shark Tank (2018) in the video below:
Evolution Of DetraPel’s Technology
How has DetraPel’s technology evolved since launching? DetraPel has grown its technology to offer best-in-class performance so manufacturers do not have to worry about compromising performance when they want to switch to a sustainable alternative.
“We’ve expanded into the paper and food packaging industries, as well as conformal coatings for electronics and other things as well,” Zamarin pointed out.
Most Significant Milestones
What have been some of DetraPel’s most significant milestones? Zamarin cited their record FDA approvals for direct and indirect food contact and being able to beat incumbent technologies that have been trying to solve performance-related issues for over 2 years for various applications.
Customer Success Story
When I asked Zamarin about a customer success story, he pointed out that they have worked with one of the largest frozen pizza companies in the United States.
“We created a custom coating for their pizza box, allowing the pizza and box to go directly from the freezer to the oven for an efficient customer experience. This high-performing, oil & grease-resistant coating is 100% fluorine-free,” Zamarin revealed.
Future Company Goals
What are some of DetraPel’s future company goals?
“We plan on expanding our facilities to include further capabilities and upstream research and development,” Zamarin concluded.
