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HISTORY
HISTORY
3
CHAPTER 1
The history of the Lane Borgosesia wool mill originates with ties to the name of the Antongini family.
Carlo Antongini (1797-1886), who was probably connected with the insur-rection movements of that period, left Milan and settled in Arona which at the time bordered with the Reign of Sar-dinia. Once reunited with his brother Alessandro, Carlo Antongini left Arona and sought refuge in Switzerland. Fol-lowing the advice of Castellani, a salt dealer in Valsesia with a warehouse in Arona, Carlo moved to Borgosesia per-manently.
1848 was the year when the first plans were undertaken to establish a wor-sted spinning mill of the English type, following the example of the Preyssel brothers whom Antongini had met in Linate.
The area of Valsesia proved to be parti-cularly suitable because it was located along the route of flocks of sheep mi-grating to the Biella district, and it was
actually in Borgosesia by the Sesia River where the periodic shearing of the she-ep and the washing of the wool occur-red.
On January 30, 1850 the firm of F.l-li Antongini & Comp. was founded, by the Antongini brothers: Tomaso, Carlo, Gaetano, Cesare and Alessandro with their partner from Milan, Zucchetti. The business of the firm at that time was the same as what appears today on the statute of the Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia S.p.A. company, “a worsted spinning mill”.
Carl
o An
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54
1821 - 1850
With a promissory note worth £ 510.000 (lira), and putting the company capital at risk the Antongini brothers became involved in a singular event that cha-racterized the history of patriotic Italy. The promissory note served as a gua-rantee to the Rubattino company of Genoa for the use of two ships (the Pie-monte and the Lombardo) for the expe-dition of Giuseppe Garibaldi known as the “Spedizione dei Mille”.
At the end of 1864 the Antongini com-pany was dissolved and on January 1, 1865 the Antongini & Sciomachen com-pany was founded.
It was a brief partnership because the Sciomachen already sold their shares in 1874.
The new company participated at the Universal Exposition of Paris with hand-knitting and embroidery yarns, winning the silver medal.
The factory at Aranco was flooded by the Sesia River from October 1st to Oc-tober 3rd, seriously jeopardizing the
factory workers and damaging the ma-chinery. Consequently, it was decided to move the plant to a safer area known as “Cerchi” in Borgosesia, on the left bank of the Sesia River.
The Antongini went on to purchase “Mu-lino Castellani”, a mill in Ponte Agnona with its corresponding water supply, which was indispensible to generate power to run the machinery in the new factory.
The plant was inaugurated in 1870 and at the same time the site of the Aranco plant was purchased, which up to that time had been leased from Giovanni Aj-mone.
1860 – 1872
76
On March 1st in the offices of Banco di Torino, the company Società Anonima Manifattura Lane Borgosesia was con-stituted. The conversion of the com-pany from a family run business to a corporate enterprise occurred for two reasons: to find the enormous capital necessary to complete the new plant and to increase the productivity of the company. The head office was moved to Turin to the “Banca della Piccola In-dustria e del Commercio”, which was in turn a shareholder of the company. In those years the old plant had 2.300 spindles. Another 2.000 spindles were ordered and the plan was to purchase another 2.700 to reach a total of 7.000 spindles overall. From this point on, with the constitution of the new corporation, the development of the plant and the buildings was to increase at great spe-ed. The main source of energy was wa-ter power, both as mechanical power and a hydroelectric source of energy for the machinery and the lighting.
Inside the plant powerful boilers were
installed, partially fuelled by coal and later on with heating oil, capable of supplying the vapour necessary for the dye-house.
From this moment onward the impact of the Manifattura Lane Borgosesia on the social life of Borgosesia became very significant.
As early as 1874 housing and detached houses were built for the workers (over 1,000 rooms) and the Casa Operaia of Aranco was opened with a capacity for 320 guests.
A musical band consisting of 50 ele-ments was founded in this period. Se-veral years later a fire brigade was also started and put at the disposal of the city of Borgosesia for public service.
1873 – 1890
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In this year the wool mill was also equipped with a medical center which also had an x-ray machine capable of supplying free health care and perma-nent assistance. The “Federazione Istru-zione di Previdenza” was also founded (with a pension fund dedicated to the elderly workers), and a sports ground and library were also financed by the company. The “Istituto Convitto”, simi-lar to boarding house, was built in this period to house the female workers coming from distant areas. It was ma-naged by the sisters of the Convent of Maria Ausiliatrice, with a capacity of 400 beds, a Church and even a little theater. Between 1909 and 1927 two other se-mi-boarding houses were opened and they could each house respectively 150 and 300 girls, and these buildings were later transformed into housing.
The facilities built by the mill to meet the needs of the workers was really on a grand scale. In addition to what has already been mentioned, a series of nine industrial constructions known
as “The North Section” should also be mentioned. These were purchased in 1910 from the Cotonificio Pozzi Novara Valsesia, and connected with the main plant by a steam powered train.
Near the railway station the “East Section” was created which consisted of several buildings and land including a professional school bearing the name of “Giuseppe Magni”, later transformed into a technical school which was spe-cialized in weaving and spinning and possessing all of the necessary machi-nery.
A day care center for 60 children was also founded.
1890 – 1924
1110
While in Borgosesia the development of the wool industry continued at full spe-ed, in the nearby area of Biella the first thirty years of the 20th Century were characterized by the incessant develop-ment of new textile plants.
In this flourishing period, which was rich in opportunities, the Albino and Alfredo Zegna brothers, opened two small spin-ning mills in 1924. One was located in Vallemosso (in the Strona Valley) and the other one was in Lessona (later on it was moved to Vallemosso).
In this period the yarn exported was no longer paid according to the price of the wool but on the basis of the craftsman-ship employed in the processing. It was for this reason that the company of the Zegna brothers strove to improve the crafting enabling them to sell their pro-ducts at higher prices. This is how fancy yarns, bright colored crèpes and novel-ty yarns for that period were started.
In the meantime the company assu-med the name of A. Zegna, changing
it from the name of the two founding brothers, and started to produce yarns for hand-knitting creating a special de-partment using machinery patented by the factory to produce the first “wor-sted angora”.
During World War II, despite the diffi-culties of the times, the company con-tinued to work actively further consoli-dating its vocation towards quality high end products.
In the post-war period and in particular starting from 1950, there is a general economic boom as growth and prospe-rity resumes.
1924 – 1950
1312
Giorgio and Giulio Zegna succeeded their father Albino and Uncle Alfredo, setting as their priority the objective of advancing the already high qualitative levels reached by the founders, expan-ding the presence of Zegna Baruffa (the new company name) in the world. De-spite the great flood which struck the Strona Valley, the Zegna Baruffa com-pany still managed to expand the pro-duction of fantasy yarns in the plant at Vallemosso and set the basis for a significant internationalization (first Eu-ropean and then worldwide) extending commercial ties around Italy, in France, Germany, the USA and in the Far East. This is an important year for the com-pany. In order to face the increased vo-lume of sales, Zegna Baruffa takes over the industrial part of Manifattura Lane Borgosesia and changes the trade name into ZEGNA BARUFFA LANE BORGOSE-SIA S.p.A. From this moment, through a deep restructuring of the company and its products, the company has dedica-ted itself to satisfying the requests of a
market in constant evolution, revitali-zing the sector of worsted yarns which had been facing competition from the carded sector.
1963 – 1974
1514
In the 1980s la Zegna Baruffa Lane Bor-gosesia S.p.A. launches a product that would become the symbol of high qua-lity.
It is called Cashwool®, a very fine linear yarn (19/19.5 micron), that even today presents characteristic of uniqueness. It is as soft as cashmere and as shiny as silk.
The creation of this innovative product is flanked by another innovative (and not only by chance) way of proposing it: stock service.
In this same period there is an actual global expansion of Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia S.p.A. with the first contact with Japan which happened thanks to Cashwool® and good commercial intu-ition. This is a new growing market and an actual starting point for the process of internationalization which later pro-ves to be so important. In the 1990s the strategy of the group is further defined, becoming the leader in the production of industrial yarns for classic and fan-
tasy outerwear. The precise policy of commercial internationalization is achieved by the opening of foreign offi-ces in New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo and the area of Dusseldorf, in Germany.
1980 – 1990
1716
150 years young. 150 years of a young strong spirit. In July of this year the company celebrates its history and its results at the conclusion of the Pitti Im-magine Filati show.
An event that involves a spectacular happening inspired by the concept of Young Spirit with the most important commercial and designer representati-ves of the world present in Florence.
2000
1918
Alfredo Botto Poala and his sister Elisa-betta who have always retained 46% of the company shares, in agreement with the Zegna Baruffa family, acquired 42% of the shares pertaining to Massimilia-no and Mila Zegna thus becoming abso-lute majority shareholders.
In the same year there is the inaugu-ration of a new dyeing department for hanks in Borgosesia, which marks a new goal in the area of innovation. With the aim of customizing in support of the service model identified, the company made large investments to try to eleva-te the already high quality standard.
2006
2120
It’s launched Supermelange Cashwo-ol® version, a product with unique co-lor characteristics: thanks to an innova-tive color research, through a constant blending, is uniform in appearance and free from stripes.
2007
2322
In June 2009, Zegna Baruffa Lane Bor-gosesia S.p.A. and Filatura di Chiavazza S.p.A. reaches a preliminary agreement that leads to a full merging of the two companies. This operation enables im-portant production, commercial and financial synergies. In December 2009 Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia purcha-ses Botto Poala S.p.A.
The result is the birth of one of the most important Groups in the international textile scene in size and by the wide range of products offered under the three historical brands: Baruffa, Chia-vazza and Botto Poala.
Worsted, wollen and fancy yarns for kni-twear and weaving, made with precious raw materials, like extra-fine wool, silk and cashmere and with the use of the most advanced technologies.
The entry of Botto Poala to the group completes the collection, introducing the know-how of a company highly spe-cialized in fine and luxurious yarns.
June 1st, 2009
2524
Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia spon-sors the event in Geneva “FOREST FOR FASHION - FASHION FOR FOREST” pro-moted by the United Nations, FAO, City dell ‘Arte, to support sustainability in fashion as a tool to improve the heal-th of planet. The purpose of the event was to signal the possibility to rethink the human activities within a new glo-bal renaissance in perfect balance with the planet, showing how human acti-vities and the ecosystem profit by this new relationship whose symbol has be-come “Third Paradise” by the famous artist Michelangelo Pistoletto. Within this vision, Zegna Baruffa reviews and improves some practical aspects of the production cycle: highly sophisticated machinery to optimize energy and wa-ter consumption. The water recycling operates through a chemical-physical process combined (?) with an internal sewage treatment plant, from which the discharged water is reintroduced into the environment, chemically pure and potable.
March 21th, 2014
2726
H2DRYTM is presented in the July 2015 edition of Pitti Immagine Filati. This exclusive treatment applied to some of the leading products of Zegna Baruffa collection, especially on the very fine wool, creates very high performance yarns in terms of total easy care, crease resistance, breathability and elasticity. The collaboration with the University of Turin, for the development and testing, has allowed us to obtain a perfect yarn for a total comfort knitwear.
Visit our website: www.h2dry.it
2015
2928
CHAPTER 2
3130
At the end of the 19th Century the ap-pearance of Biella was that of a heavily industrialized area, dotted with large factories and small works in which spe-cific crafting was performed through the numerous steps of the complete productive cycle.
At the turn of the century, with the in-troduction of electricity and the sub-sequent mechanization which ensued, manufacturers moved their factories from the banks of the torrents in the upper part of the Biellese district, whe-re they had initially been placed, to the plain which was closer to the major communication links including the in-frastructures and services of the area. In this way Biella was transformed into the Manchester of Italy and the indu-strial organization rapidly transformed the economy of the area.
The Filatura di Chiavazza was establi-shed in this context in 1927 at the outlet of the deep Cervo Torrent Valley, in an area south of Biella bearing the same name, as desired by Giacomo Borsetti,
the man who contributed to the start of the textile industry in Biella.
The end of 1800
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Giacomo Borsetti was born in Biella in 1887. His father, a foreman in Maglifi-cio Boglietti, was in charge of the wa-shing, milling and brushing of the knit rolls and later became manager of the cutting and garment production of the finished goods.
Giacomo Borsetti inherited this passion for textiles from his family, already in-volved in the business.
After attending a textile school, Borsetti soon started his working life first at the Kemmerer Company, the famous wool agent of that time, and then at Lanificio Viola and Lanificio Fiorina, for which he became a travelling salesman for all of the customers in the south of Italy.
In those years Giacomo Borsetti acqui-red great knowledge of textile techni-ques and the textile market, receiving esteem and appreciation from many people. In 1912 he was offered an im-portant position at Ottavio Cappio Va-ciago & C. in Luserna S. Giovanni, and later became their general manager.
1887
3534
After these working experiences Gia-como Borsetti decided to start his own business by buying a spinning mill in Chiavazza and establishing his own company on March 28, 1927 which he called “Filatura di Chiavazza”.
In a short time the young entrepre-neur acquired numerous secrets of car-ded spinning which he united with his strong sense of enterprise and great care in the selection of raw materials.
1927
3736
With intelligence and passionate com-mitment, Roberto Borsetti, son of Giacomo, gave a great impetus to his Company. The already modern plant in Vigliano Biellese, is enlarged over the years and the machinery becomes fully automatic. All the dyeing and spinning machines are individually customized to reach achieve the very best quality, and a major computerization process, unique for its time, provides real time data. The Mill becomes one of the most important european Companies in the wollen yarn industry for high quality knitwear.
The 30’s
3938
Due to the growing success of the com-pany, it became necessary to move into larger quarters which were better equipped.
This is how the buildings in Vigliano Biellese were started and in 1947 the spinning mill moved there permanent-ly, keeping the original name tied to the old factory which was already well known on the market.
The production line of the yarns bea-ring the Chiavazza trademark are still located there.
The company commitment, to conti-nually increase quality standards by producing fluffy yarns that are regular and soft, distinguishes Chiavazza from regular market standards.
The spinning mill starts by working ob-sessively on product research. The fi-bers are treated like precious objects, after having been selected initially by careful experts.
The studies to create very high quality
yarns, that are the base of true elegan-ce, are applied only to products coming from precious fibers.
1947
4140
The development momentum
With great intelligence and dedica-ted hard work, Roberto Borsetti, son of Giacomo, gave great impulse to his company. The modern plant in Vigliano Biellese, which had grown continually during the years, proceeded to automa-te its machinery electronically. In order to get the best out of the processing, the machinery was especially modified and personalized. Besides this, the plant was computerized so that all company data was available in “real time”.
The spinning mill became one of the most important companies in Italy and in Europe in the sector of carded pro-ducts for high quality knitwear. It was also recognized and appreciated by the top designers of both Italian and inter-national fashion houses.
The Chiavazza Cashmere
Cashmere spinning is another impor-tant intuition by Roberto Borsetti, and can be considered as a milestone of in the history of the spinning Mill.
This pioneering and courageous choi-ce, dictated by the continuous resear-ch of higher quality raw materials that must be spun in a delicate and careful way, was at that time a prerogative of the Scottish industry.
The cashmere produced by Chiavazza is not only the first carded cashmere pro-duced in Italy, but also a yarn that, in a short time, matched and overcame,-surpassed the quality of the cashmere yarns produced in Scotland.
The 50’s
4342
CHAPTER 3
4544
The philosophy behind the entire pro-duction cycle is the same as a century ago; to focus on extreme experimenta-tion and attention to the raw materials, strictly natural and precious.
The company was founded in 1876 when the founder of the Botto Poala fa-mily began his entrepreneurial adven-ture in Vallestrona. Until the twenties the production was only wollen yarns, but it is in the seventies that it takes the great technological leap. Sophistica-ted machinery is used in creating pro-ducts which are more able to satisfy the most demanding clientele. From that moment the company realizes the im-portance of completing the textile cycle, producing yarns for knitwear, underwe-ar and handknitting in both worsted and woolen spinning.
1876
4746
Extremely fine wool, the finest silks, ca-shmere and the thinnest linens, become high end yarns with a classic look but increasingly sophisticated. The brand is recognized around the world as a top quality brand and therefore the highest quality standards and a constant atten-tion to the fashion trends, have cha-racterized the Botto Poala collection.
The 900’s
4948
Since December 2009 Botto Poala, is controlled by Zegna Baruffa Lane Bor-gosesia, while still retaining its full com-pany identity.
Worsted, wollen and fancy yarns for kni-twear and weaving, made with precious raw materials, like extra-fine wool, silk and cashmere and with the use of the most advanced technologies.
The entry of Botto Poala to the group completes the collection, introducing the know-how of a company highly spe-cialized in fine and luxurious yarns.
2009
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201
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201
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5150
