From Italian Passion,
an Australian Innovation

A brief history of FX Australia special effects paints

When Alberto Sanvito arrived in Australia from northern Italy in 1991, he didn't have much English. But what Alberto did have was a passion for art and a vast storehouse of knowledge about paint, acquired in a country where creating beauty with textured and coloured surfaces is a tradition reaching back beyond Roman times.

For centuries, Italians have been researching and refining to unlock the secrets not only of paint itself, but also of how to apply it to achieve special effects.

Armed with this singular knowledge, and an innate understanding of how paint should look and feel, Alberto Sanvito and his wife Dianne established their own company, specialising in the supply and application of premium quality special effects paints.

As the company grew, Alberto's role began to change. He found that the architects, designers and specifiers among his clients were asking him to supply products manufactured to a specific brief, and tapping his knowledge to find the best possible solutions to achieve their visions.

Major commercial projects such as the Star City Casino and Darling Harbour 's Harbourside Shopping Complex, as well as many architect-designed private residences, all successfully used paints supplied by Alberto Sanvito Pty Ltd, and both the company's reputation and turnover were growing.

But this success began to create its own difficulties. All of the company's special effects products were imported, and when their arrival in Australia was held up by freight problems, or there was inconsistency between paint batches, projects were unable to meet completion deadlines.

Alberto and Dianne Sanvito , to whom professionalism was a cornerstone of their company, decided that the growing problems demanded decisive action.

With the intention of manufacturing their own paints in Australia , the Sanvitos travelled to Europe in 1995. In Italy , and wherever expertise could be found, they established contact with the manufacturers of special effects paints, their suppliers of raw materials, and their technical staff. Over four years, returning several times, they conducted exhaustive research into raw pigments and the cutting-edge technology and application methods that would enable local production of the highest quality paint products.

By1999, key paint manufacturing personnel were in place, lines of supply to the finest raw materials were established, and FX Australia had become a going concern.

In the past six years, FX Australia has developed an extensive collection of unique paint products, all Australian made, and a range of services unmatched by any other specialist paint company.