Improving our communities at home and abroad–starting at foot level.

At DARCO we are committed to providing quality podiatric products to those in need regardless of economic status or location. Since DARCO’s founding in 1985, we have expanded across the globe with offices and employees in the United States, Germany, England, India, and China to establish and maintain a local presence in the geographies we serve.

This global network allows us to build personal relationships with our partners to ensure our product design and services stay aligned with the needs of our diverse customer base. Whether it is the distributors who carry our products, the clinicians who prescribe them, or the patients who use them, our team is ready to provide support at every step of the product lifecycle making sure you get the most out of every DARCO product no matter where you are in the world.

We place great emphasis on continuing our own education as well as helping others continue theirs and are active supporters of educational initiatives worldwide. DARCO has sponsored global symposiums and workshops in Germany, Austria and China as well as contributed over $500,000 to the Fund for Podiatric Medical Education (FPME) providing scholarships to podiatry students in the United States.

DARCO Global Offices Left to Right: DARCO US (Huntington, WV); DARCO Europe (Raisting, Germany); DARCO China (Shanghai); DARCO India (Dharwad, Karnataka); DARCO UK (Halesworth, Suffolk)

Our Founder

Dr. H Darrel Darby, DPM

When Dr. H. Darrel Darby, DPM, a practicing podiatrist, grew frustrated with the design and performance of the wooden sole post-op shoes that dominated the market in the 1980s, he knew he needed to challenge the status quo set by the manufacturers of the time.

Dr. Darby began experimenting with incorporating running shoe technology into post op shoe design, drawing his first ideas on the back of a napkin. He turned his sketch into reality and developed the DARCO MedSurg™ Shoe, the world’s first post-operative shoe featuring a semi-rigid sole designed for greater patient comfort and faster healing.

It was this innovation that led Dr. Darby to found DARCO International in 1985. During his 18 years of leadership, Dr. Darby was instrumental in helping the company establish itself as one of the strongest foot and ankle brands in the world by becoming an industry leader in the design and manufacturing of podiatry products.

On November 18, 2003, Dr. Darby died after a long battle with cancer. In 2004, he was posthumously awarded the “Distinguished Service Citation”, the highest honor bestowed by the APMA, in recognition of his contributions to the profession of podiatry.

DARCO continues to honor Dr. Darby’s legacy by focusing on the core beliefs that have driven our company’s success since the beginning.