Darco International Inc. was founded in 1985 by Podiatrist, H. Darrel Darby. At the time Dr. Darby was frustrated by the antiquated surgical shoes on the market; his patients constantly complained that there was nothing comfortable to wear after surgery or when certain procedures were done. Dr. Darby set out to design and manufacture a modern-day post-op shoe that his patients could wear while they healed. From that, Darco was born.
Dr. Darby was a proud graduate of the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine. In 1976, he was elected as president of the APMA. Dr. Darby pushed aggressively for hospital privileges for podiatrists and was strong advocate and supporter of podiatric education. To date, Darco has donated over half a million dollars for podiatric student scholarships.
With his guidance and proactive approach, Dr. Darby helped grow Darco into one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of foot and ankle products in the world. Today, we have five locations around the world serve the global foot and ankle community. Darco products are known for their high quality as well as their functionality.
In 2004, Darco introduced the first square toe medical surgical shoe. The product quickly became the most popular post op shoe on the market. Soon after, many of its post operative shoes took on that same square toe design. Currently, many companies have imitated the design, both in the US and throughout the world – truly a statement to Dr. Darby’s vision to improve patient footwear. Since that time, Darco has continued to design and launch innovative products to assist podiatrists and their patients.
Today, Dr. Darby’s son, H. Darrel Darby II is president of the company, entering into a new era of patient-friendly products that can be found in multiple medical segments. Not only is Darco dominate in the podiatric market, its products are used with regularity in O&P, orthopedics, wound care and physical therapy/rehab. The product line has expanded and now includes walking boots, plantar fasciitis night splints, ankle braces, compression garments and incredibly effective, off-the-shelf wound care and offloading products, such as our very popular Peg Assist Offloading Insole.
While Darco has expanded its reach and scope, podiatry will always remain our central focus and the community in which it takes the greatest pride in serving – holding true to Dr. Darby’s legacy.
Darco takes pride in supporting numerous organizations via attendance at conferences throughout the year. In any given year, you’ll see us supporting meetings such as the APMA National, The Florida Podiatric Conference (SAM), The New York State Podiatric Conference, The Midwest, Western Podiatric and many other state and regional podiatric meetings. We attend and support the AAOS, AAOP, SAWC, WOCN, WOW, Hanger Live and other non-podiatric events.
The goal remains to provide podiatrists and their patients with high quality products that bring value to all concerned and more importantly, assist in the healing process. When choosing foot and ankle products for your office and the patients you serve, think of the company that has deep roots in podiatry and one that has been a proud supporter of the podiatric community for thirty-seven years.
