Indoor book
MDF Italia
16
17
Company profile
Story
Story
The story of MDF Italia begins in 1992, when Bruno Fattorini, first economist,
then designer and art director, founded the company based on his profound
knowledge of culture and aesthetics, rapidly transforming it into one of the
most interesting and innovative design companies in Italy.
La storia di MDF Italia inizia nel 1992. Il fondatore Bruno Fattorini, studioso di
economia, poi designer e art director, basa l’azienda su una approfondita
riflessione culturale ed estetica, trasformandola in breve tempo in una delle
realtà più interessanti e innovative del design italiano.
Back in the early 1990s minimalism, from a niche move-
ment, began to inspire a certain kind of creativity and
thought. MDF Italia interpreted this in its own way, more as
addition rather than subtraction, in a research work that
expressed a radically new way of doing things. Aluminium,
hitherto a material used for workspaces, entered the
domestic sphere; the products were essential but their
apparent simplicity concealed an avant-garde technol-
ogy and a profound thought process. Before long
recognition and awards arrived, with pieces such as the
Minima and Random bookcases, the Le Banc bench
and the Tense table becoming new design icons.
Siamo all’inizio degli anni Novanta: il minimalismo, da mo-
vimento di nicchia, inizia a ispirare un certo tipo di creatività
e di pensiero. MDF Italia lo reinterpreta a suo modo, più
come addizione che come sottrazione, in una ricerca che
esprime il nuovo in modo radicale. L’alluminio, da materiale
tecnico destinato agli spazi di lavoro, entra nell’ambiente
domestico; i prodotti sono essenziali, ma la loro apparente
semplicità cela una tecnologia all’avanguardia e un
pensiero profondo. Premi e riconoscimenti non tardano
ad arrivare, mentre alcuni pezzi – come le librerie Minima e
Random, la panca Le Banc e il tavolo Tense – diventano
le nuove icone del design.
2011
The Yale sofa by Jean-Marie
Massaud is awarded the
Compasso d’Oro (Golden
Compass).
2016
MDF Italia tasks Studio
Bestetti with the renova-
tion of their headquarters
in Mariano Comense.
2019
With the acquisition of
the historic brand Acerbis,
MDF Italia becomes
a group.
2022
MDF Italia presents the
Principle of Lightness
collection to mark
the company’s 30th
anniversary.
2004
Presentation of Lofty,
a stainless steel set
of chairs, by Piergiorgio
Cazzaniga.
2005
Neuland Industriedesign
and MDF Italia present
Random, transforming
the traditional bookcase
from a functional
storage unit to a design
sculpture.
2007
The Cassina family
acquires the MDF Italia
trademark.
2009
Piergiorgio and Michele
Cazzaniga design
the Tense table, an icon
of lightness and flexibility,
which, thanks to its
internal structure, can be
extended up to 4 metres
in length.
1992
Bruno Fattorini sets up
MDF Italia.
1995
The LIM collection intro-
duces the use of alumini-
um, a material from
the industrial world, into
the home.
1998
Fattorini designs Minima,
a bookcase system
composed of three basic
elements: shelves, up-
rights and storage.
Honourable mention at
the 13th ADI Compasso
d’Oro industrial design
awards.
2001
Xavier Lust designs Le
Banc, a bench made
of curved aluminium, only
6 mm thick. It is MDF
Italia’s first collaboration
with a foreign designer.
mdf italia,
since
1992
