The Molteni group is one of Italy’s leading international furnishings companies. It consists of four companies, each one at the forefront of its sector: Molteni&C SpA (home furnishings), Unifor SpA (office furnishings), Dada SpA (kitchens) and Citterio SpA (offi ce furnishings and partitions). Molteni offers global furnishing in Italy and in over eighty countries all over the world. Molteni&C was founded in 1934 in Giussano, Brianza, just a few kilometers from Milan. The traditional artisan’s workshop grew fi rst into a company and then into an international group. Molteni&C combines advanced technology with oldfashioned tradition. In the 1950s Molteni were leaders in the manufacture of classic bedroom furniture. The mid 1960s marked a turning point. These were the years of Italy’s economic boom and change was in the air. It was the beginning of design, on an industrial scale. Key interior designers and architects came into the factory, along with technical experts. Projects took shape on the drawing board, prototypes were made, designs were corrected, and so on. In 1969 Molteni&C took over offi ce furniture manufacturer Unifor SpA, as well as acquiring a stake in Citterio SpA, specialized in partition walls for offi ces. The Contract business also got underway, with major assignments, both in Italy and abroad, for customers with specifi c requirements. The reconstruction of the Teatro la Fenice in Venice, huge cruise ships for major international companies, hotels and apartment hotels all over the world. In 1979 the Group acquired Dada SpA, specialists in topof-the-range modular kitchens. In this way Molteni rose to the challenge of the 1980s: internationalization. Today Molteni is one of the few groups guaranteeing an integrated cycle – it has total control over every aspect of production, from the choice of materials to the fi nal defi nition of the product. The current four companies have developed an expansive synergy as regards technology, research, and development of new products in responce to changes in the home and in the workplace.
