
Last week, we published a full review of Orgatec by John Sacks. John is an industry consultant from London, and he’s contributed to officeinsight in the past, primarily covering the China trade shows in Shanghai and Guangzhou. His coverage of this year’s Orgatec was particularly insightful –if you haven’t already, read it here.
When I returned from Orgatec, I had a couple of hundred pictures I had taken but not a clue as to what I’d write about it. I settled on one target, and in this piece I’ll share an interview I had during the show with Guiliano Mosconi, the CEO of Tecno.
It’s no secret I’m a fan of Tecno. (read my previous article) and I’m keen to see how the company fares under Mr. Mosconi’s leadership. So I was happy when he agreed to an interview despite our language issues (his English is only a fractionally better than my Italian so we benefitted greatly from an interpreter). In Italy he has a solid reputation as a turnaround leader, and I found him to be charismatic and very straightforward. Here it is.
Bob Beck (BB): It’s been seven years since you acquired Tecno. Are you happy with the progress?
Giuliano Mosconi (GM): Yes, it’s seven years since we took over the company, and we have seen a transformation in the way we work, so some days I’m particularly happy. Some days are a miss, but we have a very precise idea of the future of the company, and overall I’m happy with the progress. Of course, every one of us has an idea of the future, and each one goes forward so this future becomes possible.



BB: As the CEO of Poltrona Frau, you put together the acquisition of Cassina and Cappellini, forming the Gruppo Poltrona Frau. How has that experience informed your work at Tecno?
GM: When we acquired those two highly esteemed companies, I entered a tradition of design. Also at Tecno, the tradition of design is very strong. But when I arrived at Tecno we put a sentence at the entrance of the building. It says, “We are not involved in furniture, we are here to redesign the future with our future work.” And that idea has become our slogan. In English we say, “Redesigning the Future of Future Work.”
This is a starting point for us to understand the impact of technology on the way we work; how our products will be used. The products must reflect an understanding of the way people are working. What is changing is the use of time. We have grown up when there was a time to work, a time to rest, and a time for vacation. Nowadays everything is mixed. Business is digital, and digitalization is having a profound impact on how people are using and relating to our products. So in this new time we found our future strategy; our products now must be intelligent products – products that recognize you and recognize the environment in which they are.
In the U.S. we are a partner of Common Ground, an innovative real estate and co-work company where we are doing projects that are very interesting for quality, for the novelty, and with an eye towards the future.

BB: We’re seeing many different approaches to co-working. What are you doing with Common Ground that is unique?
GM: Their approach is to provide many different arrangements and sizes of spaces – and these spaces are enclosed using our most versatile glass partition system. They reconfigure quickly and often depending on the changing requirements of their clients. Their idea is to give clients as much or as little space as they need and it can be as open or private as they want it to be, and this vision is made possible using our system because of its flexibility.
BB: I became a fan of Tecno products from my first encounter with the Nomos Table during Milan Design Week in the mid 80s. But as an outside observer it seemed to me that by the 90s, the company had sort of “lost the thread” in terms of launching new and unique products.
GM: I agree. The founder of the company, Osvaldo Borsani created a rich history and heritage that is something positive for us. So we are obliged to follow this path so that he would be happy to see what we are doing. I think we are doing the same things with the same courage that he had 70 years ago. Doing exceptional products is our strength and our determination going forward. But winning 10 design awards for a product is not enough. We need to go forward into distinct product types and the products need to be used in projects that communicate how we behave. The most important thing is communicating our capabilities to the customers we are going to market to.

BB: What are your plans for the U.S. market?
GM: We are trying to reserve for ourselves an original space in the U.S. market; it is not easy to work there, because there’s a very strong presence of companies who work on furnishing the office. There are strong relationships between the producers and distributors, so it is very difficult to find a way that is not impossible. We are trying to do it the Italian way, being very careful in doing what we are doing – we pay attention. What does it mean to do it the Italian way? Approach the market with a different creativity, pay attention to final customer, know how to customize and meet the necessities of customers. And if we go along with this kind of attention and the ability to do what the client needs at the time, we do not have competitors.
BB: That’s very sound thinking. I wish you the very best.
We are so accustomed to thinking about our North American market from our own perspective, so it is interesting to get a glimpse of how it feels from Europe.
Having stated my opinion that the company had more or less “lost the thread” regarding product development in the 90’s, I was very impressed with its novità (new products). I especially liked the Aura Lounge by Rainlight and the Linea “micro architectural system” by Zanon Architetti Associati. The accomplished hand of the Tecno Project Center is very evident in the execution of both products, and I think they will both be big winners for the company.
