Guzzini: 110 years of history

25/01/2022

1912-2022: 110 years of history, mixing continuity and change

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Powered by enthusiasm and passion and fuelled by research and innovation, this year Guzzini turns 110 years of age. 110 years in which everything has changed - styles, materials and technologies. Faced with such an important anniversary, we inevitably think about how and why Guzzini has reached this impressive milestone.

In Italy, there are only just over two thousand companies more than a century old. Family-owned companies going back over a hundred years, in particular, are unique combinations of taste, sensitivity, skills and creativity, often seen by the whole world as emblematic of Italy itself.

Thanks to the ability to reconcile experience, vision and innovation, these companies have survived tough years, during which wars, economic crises and dramatic changes have permanently modified the social fabric in which they were born. They have achieved profound transformations and have handed down professional skills and know-how from generation to generation, continually suggesting new ideas of the future.

Continuity and change, two key words in the histories of the most long-lived businesses: facing even unknown challenges and combining multiple pathways to growth in a mix of individual stories, collective trajectories, social aspirations, local specialisations and ambitions.

It is no coincidence that Guzzini originated and has drawn its strength from a transgenerational history. Its visions, aims and even errors have been shared, and over time local know-how has been embraced and promoted.

Over the decades, the network and the reputation it has generated have become national and then international, adding value to its home community, in a continual journey from a single, unique territory to reach and serve multiple markets.

Every design project is based on interdisciplinary know-how and develops cognitive and functional innovations: new families of tools for shaping the world, and giving even more value to the beauty of well-made things.

“We have built an authentic brand, able to originate and produce quality and, through design, to create employment and prosperity, while delivering quality and constantly updating our knowledge, the only contemporary language that truly makes a difference,” declares company Chairman Domenico Guzzini.

To enjoy such a long lifetime, companies must be able to develop their founders’ vision, sometimes correcting it in response to new market demands and sometimes evolving it to the point where it is totally new. In Guzzini’s case, the spirit of continual innovation is driven by the relationship between lifestyles, design and technologies.

“Our origins have prepared us to face the age of networking and connections with confidence,” the Chairman continues. “We have created a company that operates with the mindset of a laboratory, developing and testing the materials, functions and tools of tomorrow, and researching solutions for a more natural economy.”

Responsibility is the keyword for Guzzini’s future.

“In our view, taking care of the world means adopting new industrial cultures, based on partnership between integrated businesses and the protection of the environment,” Domenico Guzzini concludes. “We believe that innovation is achieved via complex, adaptive production, use and reuse systems, which view all natural elements as fundamental protagonists in the processes of life. At every moment, on every project, through every solution and every step of progress, our history is continually renewed.”

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 | Guzzini

Celebrating 110

As we all know, Guzzini’s history and the success of various collections in its catalogue that have become must-have items have been shaped by its partnership with top designers. Some objects, such as the Stella ice bucket, designed by Paolo Tilche, are in the MOMA in New York, while others, like the Latina citrus-squeezer by Gecchelin, have won the coveted Compasso d’Oro design award.

To mark this major anniversary, Guzzini has decided to create the “110” pitcher, a homage to Scandinavian designer Charles F. Joosten and his famous 1957 drinks and beverages line called the Whiskey Set. Back in the 1950s, Guzzini was already pursuing its own ground-breaking design work by involving international designers in the development of coordinated, innovative, useful products for everyday life.

Elegant, classical yet absolutely contemporary in design thanks to the contrast between the rounded shapes of the pitcher’s body and its severe, angular handle, “110” also has a removable lid and a drip-proof spout.

The new pitcher belongs to the Circle programme: it is made from plastics defined as “bio-circular”, derived from plant biomass waste residues, so it is renewable, non-fossil origin. This is a truly revolutionary new entry in the tableware sector, because Guzzini is the first to succeed in making this material crystal-clear and suitable for contact with food.

Cultural heritage, innovation and sustainability are the vital factors for modern, global, quality manufacturing, our objective for the next hundred and ten years.

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