Page 44 - AIT0924_E-Paper

SERIEN FIRMENJUBILÄUM • COMPANY ANNIVERSARY

Fotos: Ragno/Mohawk Group

Storie: Ragnos Fliesenprogramm in kleinen Formaten und handgemachter Ästhetik: links Amuri, rechts Wish • Storie: Amuri (left), Wish (right) Feinsteinzeug in Holzoptik: Inedito • Porcelain stoneware: Inedito

T o mark its 75 anniversary, the Ragno showroom in Milan’s Via Marco Polo, designed operating a total of eleven production sites. Advertisements in specialist household maga-
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by Benedetta Tagliabue from EMBT Architects in Barcelona, has new colours and
zines and adverts on Italian radio and television fuelled the company’s success. Il Ragno
textures. Even when seen only from the outside, it is clear that Ceramiche Ragno has rea- becomes Ceramiche Ragno. In the 1980s, Afra Giacobazzi and her children help the family
son to celebrate. The festive floral window dressing refers to the new Golden Leaf decor business and the brand to become internationally recognized – not least thanks to spon-
which has been inspired by the gold-leaf technique – a true interplay of technology and sorship of the Formula 1 championship. The magazine Maiora. La ceramica nell’arredo e
craftsmanship. Both competences manage to outline the field in which Ragno’s product nell’architettura reflected Ragno’s path into the world of design and the project business.
range operates today. This ranges from large, thin porcelain-stoneware slabs that form In 1989, Filippo Marazzi acquired the entire share capital of Ceramiche Ragno, which then
discreet, aesthetic wall- and floor surfaces to small architectural ceramics that are explicitly became part of the Marazzi Group. This means shared technology, shared knowledge and
eye-catching thanks to their formats, their mosaics and their three-dimensional structu- values as well as joint international growth. The following year, the mascot Ciao had a
res. Ragno’s Storie collection pays homage to traditional craftsmanship and reinterprets huge advertising impact with an audience of millions. The sculpture of a footballer clad
what is traditional by using state-of-the-art technology. For decades, creativity, innovative in white, red and green Ragno tiles becomes the symbol of the Italia 90 World Cup. In the
production techniques and effective marketing were to become the growth engine of the years 2000 to 2013, research and technological innovation are further advanced. Porcelain-
company, which was founded in 1949. stoneware products are created that “interpret” wood surfaces and cement tiles, as well
as the Miniature collection. The Italian architect and designer Ferruccio Laviani creates the
1949: Ragno – Italy’s first post-war ceramics company exclusive Espressioni Arkitessuto product line – unfortunately no longer available today.

Afra Fontana, her husband Romeo Giacobazzi and the entrepreneur Vincenzo Gibertini Since 2013: Ragno / Marazzi Group belong to Mohawk Industries
founded Il Ragno in 1949 as Italy’s first post-war ceramics company. This was made pos-
sible thanks to funds provided by the Marshall Plan for reconstruction after the Second Since 2013, Ragno and the Marazzi Group have been part of Mohawk Industries, the
World War. The name of the company and the first logo – a stylized spider – are intended to world’s largest supplier of floor coverings in a wide range of materials, which is listed
reflect diligence, perseverance and creativity. The construction of housing was the central on the New York Stock Exchange and has its headquarters in Georgia/USA. Thanks to
theme at the time. Ragno’s focus is therefore on high-quality wall tiles. At the end of the extensive financial resources channelled into all Italian plants, Ragno has been able to
1950s already, the brand developed the first “green” product in the history of ceramics: consolidate its position in the high-end segment both in Italy and abroad. Thanks to tech-
a tile with a high proportion of recycled material, more precisely of glaze waste and of nological patents and sophisticated equipment, the company is able to respond quickly
broken glass bottles. Architects Vittorio Cafiero, Adalberto Libera – a master of rationa- to any market trends and to guarantee productivity, quality and flexibility. These include
lism – Amedeo Luccichenti, Vincenzo Monaco and Luigi Moretti used this very product the 3D Ink technology developed in the Ragno research department, a sophisticated 3D
to design the Olympic Village in Rome in 1960. This highly acclaimed reference project printing process that gives surfaces an extreme material realism, Cleanout Antibacterial
earned the Sassuolo-based company international recognition and also heralded the start Protection, a constant antibacterial protection, or StepWise technology, which enables high
of floor- and wall tile production, in which research and technological innovation went slip resistance and a soft-touch surface at the same time. In the course of 75 years, Ragno
hand in hand with aesthetic experimentation. During these years, the Spyder, Stella and has continued to develop. Interior designers/architects are able to get the best overview
Star brands were created for foreign markets. The Olympic Village marks the beginning of the portfolio and plenty of inspiration on the Ragno homepage or – even better – at the
of an enormous rise. At the end of the 1960s/beginning of the 1970s, Ragno became the Cersaie. The international tile- and porcelain-stoneware trade fair will once again take
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largest ceramic-tile manufacturer in Italy, selling over 20 million square metres of tiles and place in Bologna from 23 to 27 September.
044 • AIT 9.2024