Manufacturer · Italy · Novedrate · est. 1966
B&B Italia
B&B Italia (est. 1966) – Italian upholstered furniture manufacturer from Novedrate, founded as C&B Italia; an early adopter of cold-moulded polyurethane foam.
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About the manufacturer
- Years active
- est. 1966
- Country
- Italy
- Location
- Novedrate
The company was established in 1966 in Novedrate (province of Como) as C&B Italia, founded by Piero Ambrogio Busnelli and Cesare Cassina. In 1973, Busnelli acquired Cassina’s shares and changed the name to B&B Italia. The C&B logo was designed by Bob Noorda. Cold-moulded polyurethane foam became the basis of the company’s technology – Busnelli saw the machines used to produce it at the Interplast trade fair in London in 1964. The company operated its own research and development department, CR&S, while its headquarters in Novedrate were designed by the Piano & Rogers practice.
The first models included Coronado (1966) by Tobia & Afra Scarpa and Lombrico by Marco Zanuso (1967). In 1969, the UP series by Gaetano Pesce was created. Mario Bellini designed Amanta and Le Bambole for the company – the latter received the Compasso d’Oro in 1979. Antonio Citterio and Paolo Nava created the Diesis system (1979), while Citterio’s Sity model received the Compasso d’Oro in 1987. From 1975, the company developed the Maxalto line. Afra and Tobia Scarpa also designed the company’s first showroom in New York (1976).
In 2011, the Busnelli family regained a majority stake, and in 2018 the company joined Design Holding (Investindustrial and Carlyle), from which the Flos B&B Italia group emerged.
