In 2010 Giuliano Mosconi left his position as CEO of the Poltrona Frau Group and invested in a majority share of Tecno s.p.a. It was a watershed moment for the vaunted Italian brand with its long history of award winning products and projects.
Companies can get caught in a trap of their own past success, and Tecno may have been guilty of falling into that trap. Having been a leader of the “Italian Design Movement” since the 50s, by 2010 it had not only stopped growing but the company was in a slow, steady decline.
“To face the new challenges of the market,” stated Mr. Mosconi, “you need the ability to interpret the needs of the client, with activity involving much more than experience with respect to the past. This awareness has led us to change our philosophy, teaming the traditional physical factory where the product is made with a ‘design factory’, with people who deal with engineering and project management, navigating the market with attention of a completely new kind.”
As much as for its individual products, Tecno is renowned for its skill in collaborating with architects and designers on major projects to develop new solutions that solve the often-complex technical issues associated with the nexus between the designer’s vision for the overall architecture and the needs of the future users of the space. The “Centro Progetti Tecno” was the vehicle within the company to tackle these large custom projects, and Mr. Mosconi recognized that re-energizing that function was key to revitalizing the company.
Company literature states, “Tecno’s experience is directed towards collective and work environments in which there is a constant encounter with complex design issues concerning technological, typological and formal definition.” The European Parliament headquarters in Brussels, the new international airport in Doha, the renewed Queen Elizabeth Court of the British Museum by architect Norman Foster, the offices of the online jobsite, Indeed.com and shared workplaces by Commongrounds are just some of the special projects in which the company has been involved.
Under Mr. Mosconi’s direction the company has also renewed its global outlook. Accordingly in 2014 he asked Andrea Perroni to move to New York and establish Tecno in North America. Mr. Perroni, Vice President of Tecno International NA, was well known to Mr. Mosconi. As a veteran of 8 years with Poltrona Frau Mr. Perroni had built a track record of success with the contract division of Cassina in the Middle East. So Mr. Mosconi had great confidence that he would succeed in the world’s largest market.
Since getting the assignment, Mr. Perroni has been a busy man. He has established a showroom and staff in New York at 1201 Broadway. And he has been very active building relationships with the likes of Indeed.com and Commongrounds. He has recruited dealers and reps and with Tecno’s acquisition of Zanotta in 2017, he has inherited an extensive network of high-end retailers across North America.
Tecno s.p.a. was founded in 1953 by Osvaldoand Fulgenzio Borsani. When Osvaldo graduated from the Polytechnic of Milan with an architecture degree he saw an opportunity to transform the family furniture manufacturing business from its traditional craft production methods to true industrial scale manufacturing. But his father, who was still the boss, disagreed.
So Osvaldo convinced his brother Fulgenzio, who happened to have a degree in economics, that they would make a great team and could strike out on their own, forming a new company dedicated to technological innovation, engineering and industrial production methods. The name they chose for their new company clearly articulated Osvaldo’s vision: Tecno.
They didn’t waste time. Only a year later Tecno made its first big public splash with the introduction of D70. Presented as a “patented divan-bed” at the Exhibition of Individual Furniture items at the 10th Triennale Exhibition in 1954. D70, designed by Osvaldo Borsani, announced a fresh direction to furniture design taken by the newly formed Tecno.
Given the successful reception D70 received, Borsani began work on the idea of a mechanical joint that could allow an armchair the freedom of movement necessary to assume different positions. He was aware of the designs of Eames and Saarinen but felt an adjustable lounge chair could offer even greater comfort and relaxation.
Both D70 and P40 are still selling, these 64 years on. The current product literature states, “Almost as a manifesto statement, the highly visible mechanical joint expressed Osvaldo Borsani’s determination to design and make items of furniture that were original, autonomous and elegant in form, but technical and industrial in production.”
From that beginning in 1954 Tecno played an important and highly visible role in the emerging “modern Italian design” movement. A movement is not made by one person or one company, and in fact the Borsanis were certainly not the only ones to see an opportunity to modernize both the design and furniture manufacturing approach presented by the rebuilding of the Italian economy that had been devastated by World War II. But fueled by Osvaldo Borsani’s design talent and dedication to technology, engineering, and mass production the company grew in both prestige and sales throughout the decades ahead – always with a clearly technical emphasis that was evident in both the form and the function of its products.
The 60s saw Tecno collaborating with Mario Bellini, Eduardo Vittoria, Robin Day, Albert Leclerc, Gio Ponti, Vittorio Borachia and Carlo Santi to produce a raft of commercially successful and award winning products. But it is the Series 142 designed by Eugenio Gerli that has stood the test of time and become a Tecno classic as well as a design influence on generations of
The late 60s, early 70s saw the establishment of the Techno Design Center conceived to collaborate with outside designers as well as create original designs. Among the first products delivered by the Tecno Design Center was Graphis (1968) one of the first open office systems in the world and still part of the Tecno product portfolio.
Graphis was followed in 1972 by Modus Chair. In keeping with the Tecno will to innovate it was an early adopter of polyamide (nylon) for a chair. Modus was designed to fill a broad range of needs with stacking and swivel versions. It is still in the catalog.
The 1980s saw the beginning of an important partnership with Norman Foster, leading to the design of Nomos, an office system that would go on to become a design icon, boosting Tecno’s worldwide reputation and further wedding it to a high-tech image. Introduced in 1986 Nomos was awarded Italy’s highest design award, the Compasso d’Oro (Gold Compass) in 1987.
1991 brought Tecno another Compasso d’Oro for the Qualis Chair designed by Emilio Ambasz. In the design of the Qualis chairs Ambasz combined exquisite upholstery detailing with highly functional and ergonomic features, including a patented backrest pivot mechanism that was purpose-designed to integrate with the rest of the armchair.
In 2009 Tecno moved its headquarters to the historic excise (tax collection) buildings facing one another across the Piazza XXV Aprile at the Porta Garibaldi in Milan. After complete renovations of those buildings, Tecno now occupies an amazing position at a key entry to Brera – the important hub of furniture and fashion design.
At the Milan Design Week this year Tecno used its prime location to herald its 2017 acquisition of Zanotta. Just as Tecno is a highly regarded brand in the contract and office markets, so Zanotta is a unique and highly credible brand in the modernist residential and hospitality markets. The combination of the two brands gives Tecno a highly competitive offering as a platform for growth in international markets.
“The acquisition of Zanotta,” explains Giuliano Mosconi, “will allow us to present ourselves on the market with a more extensive offering and to compete internationally with renewed tools for growth in supply for public spaces and in the world of contract, where Zanotta can really express itself. Zanotta must also permit the interpretation of a more aesthetic spirit in bringing out the best in shared office areas where the new qualities of workspaces are showcased.”
If you’re interested in learning more about Tecno or Zanotta or both you may contact Mr. Perroni at andrea.perroni@tecnospa.com or you may learn much more about the company at its extensive website: www.tecnospa.com.http://www.tecnospa.com