DVC History
In 1953, Dominic DiMaggio, resigned from his position as Center Fielder of the Boston Red Sox, and immediately joined forces with two partners, founding the American Latex Fiber Corporation, located at Lawrence Massachusetts in the Merrimac River Valley.
Mr. DiMaggio and his partners created the business to produce padding for ammunitions packaging, boxcar insulation, and subsequently furniture and mattress padding. The product was rubberized curled hog and horse hair, produced on state of the art, Non-woven machinery. In the late 1950’s, Mr. DiMaggio bought out his partners. Soon thereafter he moved into production of seat padding for the automotive industry. In 1961, he stepped into the breach after a catastrophic fire disabled a Pennsylvania based company by helping them to meet their contract to supply General Motors Fisher Body plants. That same year, Mr. DiMaggio purchased the remaining assets of the fire ravaged company and created a new corporation, naming it the Delaware Valley Corporation in honor of its roots in the Delaware Valley of Pennsylvania.
The New Company focused on products for the automotive industry. In 1983, the American Latex Fiber Corporation and its upholstery lines were absorbed into the Delaware Valley Corporation. In recent years, the company has broadened its product line into many new markets and remains a leader in practical innovation. Today the applications for our product lines are limited only by the creativity of our customers.
D. Paul DiMaggio Jr., who is Dom DiMaggio’s eldest of three children; came to his father’s business in 1978, having already obtained his BA from Brown and MBA from Boston University.
Read More About Dom DiMaggio Here
Dom DiMaggio History
Dominic Paul (Dom) DiMaggio was a former outfielder who played his entire career (11 seasons) for the Boston Red Sox (1940-42, 1946-53). His small stature (standing five feet nine inches) and eye glasses earned him the nickname “The Little Professor“.
|
|
In 1995 Dom DiMaggio was inducted to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.
Dom DiMaggio Baseball Achievements:
- 7 time All-Star
- First A.L. outfielder to have 500 putouts in one season (his record of 503 lasted 29 years)
- .978 Fielding Percentage
- 147 Outfield Assist
- More hits (1,679) during the years he played than any other major league player
- Only Ted Williams (1,144 to 1,046) scored more runs during those years
- Only Ted Williams (322) and Stan Musiel (316) had more Doubles than Dom’s 308 during those years
- Career .298 Batting Average for 1,399 games
- Career 100 Stolen Bases during 1,399 games
- 105 runs scored per season average, one of only six players to average 100 or more runs in the 20 the century (the other 5 are in the Hall of Fame)
- Holds the all-time Red Sox record for hitting safely in consecutive games (34)
- Youngest brother of the DiMaggio trio (Outfielders Joe DiMaggio and Vince DiMaggio) who played major league baseball
Dom DiMaggio Business Achievements
With two Boston partners, he founded American Latex Fibre Corporation in 1953 and eventually bought out the partners for sole ownership. He also started Dom DiMaggio Inc, a Foam Fabricator serving the Furniture and Electronics Industries of New England and later acquired the Delaware Valley Corporation.
| Retired: |
|
| Charities: |
|
| Directorships: |
|
Dom DiMaggio Professional Sports Involvement
Former Boston Red Sox outfielder and former executive and a founding partner of the Boston Patriots. First President and founder of the Boston Red Sox fan club, BoSox Club. The BoSox Cub was founded to promote interest in the Boston Red Sox and to establish closer contact between the Red Sox players and organization with the Boston Community.
Mr. DiMaggio co-authored the book “Real Grass, Real Heroes”, was an often quoted contributor to the book “Summer of ’49” by David Halberstam and a key protagonist in the book “Teammates” authored by David Halberstam.
Dom DiMaggio Family and Hobbies
| Wife: | Emily Alberta Frederick |
| Children: | Dominic Paul Jr., Emily and Peter |
| Hobbies: | Fishing, reading, Stock Market and economics |
Who Are We Now?
Delaware Valley Corporation is a “specialty” Needle-punch, Non-woven fabric and textile producer. Our ability to modify the physical properties of our products (porosity, tensile & tear strength, density, stiffness, thickness, etc.) by altering the fiber components, the mechanical entanglement of the base fibers and the structuring of the face of the finished fabric gives us unparalleled options. Using our Needle-punch capabilities as the foundation, our Research & Development team can design solutions to many complex problems that otherwise no-one would have thought a fabric could solve. Utilizing our Flexible Manufacturing-Job Shop production system we will produce from one to a thousand rolls of wall covering or from a hundred pollution control filters to a million filters. We will produce what the customer and their application needs, tailoring our processes to meet stringent specifications.
Longevity is a testament to customer satisfaction. We have customers that have been buying from us for 50 plus years. Our low employee turn-over rate is a testament to employee satisfaction. Satisfied employees take pride in their work. We have some employees that have been with us for over 40 years and multiple members of families working within our ranks.
Maureen’s Story: Customer Service Management
As the Sales Rep for the walk off mat business, I communicate between the customers and the Delaware Valley design and production teams. I started here just about the same time we entered the mat business 12 years ago!
I let everyone know what and when the customers want….and we do it! Because of management structure, there is not a lot of red tape to get through which allows Delaware Valley to offer superior service!
We welcome new ideas -the crazier the better!
Shelli’s Story: Traffic Manager
I am a long standing, loyal and HAPPY employee that values my position in this company.
The shipping and receiving department is a key ingredient in Delaware Valley’s formula for success.
Managing the receiving of our raw goods requires that we plan, arrange, and receive in a timely fashion. Insuring fluidity in production, and finished product delivery. First class service is what is expected from the carriers we have dedicated to our freight. Relationships built on honesty, reliance and trust with the carriers we use, benefits our customers greatly.
Our customers’ orders are loaded accurately, efficiently, and handled with care; the same level of ultimate service provided by our carriers, to our customers’ door.
Managing cost of in and out bound freight is vital. Freight costs are compared and evaluated regularly with savings passed onto our customer.
At Delaware Valley we ship and receive international as well as domestic. We also ship and receive ocean and rail containers as well as trailers.
We have flexible shipping/receiving hours, and the knowledge and equipment to get the job done.
Chris’ Story: Product Management
I have been in Automotive Sales for 25 years. 21 of those years have been in textiles, 10 with DVC. I am the eyes and ears for DVC in Detroit. I work on virtually everything from initial quotes for programs that may be 2 years from start of production to service requirements for programs that ended 5 or more years prior. I am the DVC associate that brings in color and construction submissions to the OEM’s for review and approval.
Most of my time is spent with our direct customers, the Tier 1 and 2 suppliers to the OEMs. Whether by myself or with team members from our manufacturing facilities, we make regular visits to our customers. We give them a “fresh set of eyes” to review their manufacturing processes and provide feedback on making their process more efficient. These ideas often involve manipulating our products through weight reduction, alternate fibers and deniers as well as modified constructions. In addition, I am involved with schedule changes and invoice and payment issues. These are the reasons my title is Automotive Products manager and not Sales. I am the direct link between our customers and our team members at our manufacturing facilities.