The History of B&B Italia
The founders, in 1966, of C&B Cesare Cassina and Piero Ambrogio Busnelli (photo archive)
Founded in 1966, Piero Ambrogio Busnelli went into business with Cesare Cassina, owner of Cassina, one of Italy’s well-known companies. Their new venture became so successful, with one magazine calling it the most highly automated furniture factories in the world- it soon bred for competitive tension for Cassina, who offered to buy Busnelli out.
Busnelli refused and instead bought out Cassina in 1973, changing the companies name to B&B.
Who was Piero Ambrogio Busnelli?
Born in 1926 in Meda, Italy, Piero Busnelli would become one of the greatest pioneers of italian contemporary design. he became an ambassador for ‘Made in Italy’ becoming globally recognized. The forward-thinking entrepreneur was a design visionary, although he could step back and let his workers lead the processes, Busnelli chose instead to be a part of every step from development to production and logistics.
His hard work paid off and his company B&b italia became one of the largest, most well known furniture companies in the world. He worked with leading designers like Mario Bellini, Tobia & Afra Scarpa, Gaetano Pesce, Marco Zanuso among others. His constant drive led him to create a series of iconic furniture products, including three Compasso d'Oro Award winners: Mario Bellini's 1972 Le Bambole armchair; Studio Kairos' 1983 Sisamo wardrobe system; and Antonio Citterio's 1987 Sity sofa system.
In 1989 B&B Italia was the recipient of the first ever Compasso d'Oro Award to be given to a company. The award was given for "the constant work of integration carried out in order to combine the values of scientific and technological research with those necessary to the functionality and expressiveness of its products."
In 2011, Busnelli's sons Giorgio and Emanuele brought the company back under family ownership after a majority stake was sold to private equity firm Opera in 2002. Today, the company is managed by the second generation of the family that has been guiding it for many years along the path of international growth.
Piero Ambrogio Busnelli died at the age of 87 on January 25th, 2014. A man who was never daunted by challenges and instead, faced them head on. his innovation and ambition will continue to inspire generations to come.
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