The Snaidero Group started from humble beginnings. Founded by Mr. Rino Snaidero in 1946 in the Friuli region, the first workshop employing 16 local people and manufactured bedroom furniture and windows to service the mass housebuilding “Ina casa” programme post world war II.
Snaidero very quickly outgrew the workshop, and a new much larger building was erected on the site of his father's vegetable garden. The next big step in the history of the Snaidero Group came in 1959 when Mr. Snaidero officially set up Rino Snaidero & Co, transforming the existing workshop to focus solely on the manufacture of Kitchens. This bold move meant the entire manufacturing process needed revolutionising, Mr. Snaidero invested in yet another larger facility on a one-hectare piece of land that we still call home to this present day.
In 1973 the factory needed to be extended again to keep up with demand, and it was at this point in history the relationship between Snaidero and renowned leading architects and designers was born. Snaidero founded a strong relationship with Angelo Mangiarotti who came on to design the new company headquarters. During the 1970s Mangiarotti was working on a series of mushroom-shaped blown glass vases: a design solution that translated to the designs of Snaidero’s distinctive office building.
Following the successful design and completion of the Snaidero Headquarters, Mangiarotti was commissioned to design the next generation of Snaidero kitchens, which started with the release of the “Cruscotto” kitchen - instantly displayed at the MoMa in New York (Museum of Modern Art) and is still to this day only one of a handful of kitchens to be on display https://www.moma.org/collection/works/3541
In 1976 disaster struck, the Fruili region was hit with a devastating earthquake; the epicentre just 5 miles away from the factory, and in an instant years of work was almost destroyed. It is a testament to Mr. Snaidero that he was able to gather all the surviving workforce (now around 1,000 employees) and rallied them all with the following statement “Do not give up, difficulties should be faced with determination. When these big disasters strike of course we all need a corner to sleep in, but it is essential to rebuild the workplaces immediately and then the houses. If there is no work, there is little need for houses”. From this powerful speech, all surviving machinery was moved to the smaller and older factory that had been outgrown years before, and from there just 10 days after the terrible earthquake, full production recommenced. The main factory in Majano was re built and opened it’s doors again in 1977 with a new earthquake-resistant design.
After Snaidero had tasted the benefits of working with leading designers and architects there was no going back, from then on Snaidero begun collaborating with the world's leading designers and Architects. One of the most famous longstanding design partnerships with Pininfarina is still going strong to this day, most famously known for his work with Ferrari. Pininfarina is quoted to have said in 1990 “I can safely say that I would never have designed kitchen cabinets if I hadn't been approached by Snaidero. We brought to the table a wealth of experience in formal aesthetics, recognised worldwide in the motor vehicle field. The meeting of ideas was found in the desire to see if we could translate our background of history and technological knowledge into designing a kitchen as if it were a machine for living in, i.e. form and function. And I must admit that Snaidero was at the cutting edge in every department”. This has flourished, leading to a catalogue of great design partnerships with iconic and renowned kitchen ranges that have picked up multiple global design awards.
In the Modern Day, Snaidero now has operations in over 86 countries across 6 continents, with over 800 official retail outlets worldwide and a portfolio of in-house European brands. Snaidero is now one of Italy’s largest kitchen exporters, operating through two business lines, retail and contract, the latter having supplied some of the world’s most prestigious developments, with a strong presence in countries such as Dubai, the USA, Australia & the UK (as Euro Cucina).
