In 1937 Rodolfo Squinzi founded Materiali Ausiliari Per Edilizia e Industria (Auxiliary Materials for Building and Industry) – called “M.A.P.E.I.” for short – as a small family business in Milan, Italy. It was his vision to fill what he perceived as a void in the local construction industry by manufacturing interior and exterior paints in addition to masonry repair products for commercial buildings, hospitals and airports.

MAPEI opened its doors on February 12, 1937, with a three-person workforce. Under Mr. Squinzi’s guidance, MAPEI expanded its manufacturing to adhesives for laying floors and floor coverings. The company’s first adhesives were for linoleum, later followed by setting materials for ceramic tile, stone, carpet, PVC and wood. Specialization became a hallmark of MAPEI. Always forward-thinking, Mr. Squinzi made it a personal mission to identify trends in the building and flooring industry. He also aimed to stay a step ahead of those trends by bringing innovative products to market that immediately met the newly founded demands.

Upon Rodolfo’s passing in 1984, his son, Dr. Giorgio Squinzi, an industrial chemistry graduate, became the head of this multinational company, working alongside his wife, Adriana Spazzoli. Their children, Marco and Veronica, joined the company in the 1990s. Upon the passing of both Dr. Squinzi and Dr. Spazzoli in 2019, Marco and Veronica Squinzi continue to lead the company as Co-CEOs, positions that they assumed working alongside their parents. Under the guidance of the Squinzi family, MAPEI has become the world’s leader in the manufacture of mortars, adhesives, grouts, sealants, waterproofing agents, additives for concrete and other specialty products for the building industry. MAPEI remains a family-owned and -operated business and is a privately held entity generating annual revenues of nearly $2 billion USD. The tradition of MAPEI is one that has expanded from the Squinzi family in Italy to encircle the globe, including the Western Hemisphere (MAPEI North America).

In the 1970s, MAPEI began expanding across Europe and, in 1978, into Canada, where MAPEI Inc. housed the first manufacturing plant outside of Italy. In 1983, Nicholas Di Tempora, a businessman from Canada, partnered with Dr. Squinzi to create MAPEI Corporation in the United States. In 1999, under Mr. Di Tempora’s watchful eye, MAPEI Caribe Inc. was opened to further extend the vision of MAPEI, throughout the Caribbean islands.

Mr. Di Tempora strategically increased MAPEI Corporation’s presence throughout the United States. Under his leadership, MAPEI grew and expanded steadily in all parts of the Americas and the Caribbean. The operations in the Western Hemisphere are now united under the banner of MAPEI North America, which comprises affiliates and subsidiaries in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. In 2000, the MAPEI North America headquarters were relocated to Deerfield Beach, Florida, to centralize management of the various operations. Mr. Di Tempora passed the reins of leadership on to Luigi Di Geso while retaining the post of Chairman of the Board of MAPEI Corporation.

Mr. Di Geso has been a member of the MAPEI business family for many years, and held the position of General Manager of MAPEI Inc., the Canadian subsidiary, from 2004 until he became President and CEO of MAPEI North America in 2009. Mr. Di Geso is focused on using the strength of his well-integrated teams from R&D, Marketing, Sales, Customer Service and Technical Services to position MAPEI as an overall leader in the manufacture of materials for construction and the flooring industry in the Americas.