Milestones in the history of Abet Laminati
2007
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Timeline
• A.B.E.T. spa (AnonimaBraideseEstrattiTannici), founded in1946asaproduceroftannin,startedin1957,inBra,withtheproductionofLaminateRailite.
• Limitedcollectioncomposedofsomeplaincolours,wood and stonereproductions(1).Sole format:280x130cm,solethick-ness:1,5mmandsolefinish:Lucida
• Newfinish:Sei
• Since the Sixties, Abet has anticipated future trends by usinglivelycoloursforitslaminaterange.Colourssuchasgiallopop,rossowoom,verdepace,verdebeatetc,colourswhichchangedapurelyimitativeproductintoarichmaterialwithpersonalityandfreshpotential.(2)
• Atthe1stofJanuary1964thePrint trademark(3)wasborn,whichwouldbecomeasymbolofAbet‘shighqualitydecorativelaminate known the world over for excellence in terms ofappearance and technology. Extremely sturdy and versatile,PrintHPLwillcontinuetoevolve,thankstotheinnovativepolicyofthecompany.
• In1965Abetlaunchedthecompact,self-bearing,high-thicknesslaminateStratificato (4),changinglaminatefromacoveringma-terialtoanindependentartifact,whichcanbeappreciatedforitself.Inthesameperiod,whileGio‘Pontiwaspraisinglaminateas the “first material formulated by man”, Mario Bellini,JoeColomboandEnzoMariproducedthefirstpiecesoffurni-tureentirelymadeoflaminateforLaRinascente.
• In1967,Abet Laminati inaugurated the silk-screen printing laboratory (5),tobeaplaceofresearchandtestingonsurfacedecorations for architects, designers and companies all overtheworld.
• In1967thefamousPRINT LEGNOcollectionwaslaunched.
50t ies : theear ly daysof AbetLaminat i
60t ies
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• In1972,attheBraplant,thebiggestpress(6)yettobebuilt,36storeyhigh,beganproducinghighpressure laminatetothehighestqualitystandards.
• In1972,theMOMAof New York (7)recognisedthevitalityofItaliandesign,bydedicatingagreatshowtoit.AbetLaminati,asthehistoricalpromoterofcloselinksbetweenindustryanddesign,wasoneofthemajorsupportersofthisinitiative.
• Archizoom (8),TriniCastelli,Sottsass,SowdenandSuperstudio(9)-incollaborationwithAbet-conceivedthenotionof“NeutralSurface”,asurfacefreefromanyculturalconstraint.Becauseofitsbeing“non-historical”andtradition-free,laminateistheidealma-terialforanunfetteredsearchfornewperceptionalstimuli.
• With a pool of innovation-minded Italian companies, AbetfosteredthecreationofColordinamo77(10),aresearchcen-trewhosegoalsweretoenhancetheutilisationandtheexpres-sivepotentialofcolours,andtodisseminatethecultureofcol-ouramongcompaniesanddesigners,throughshows,seminarsandpublications.
• DuringtheSeventies,AbetLaminatigreatlyexpandedtherangeof possible uses of laminate, by launching products suchasLumiphos (1974) (11),thefirstfluorescentlaminate,inthecollaborationwithClinoCastelli;Permakleen (1973) (12)forraisedfloors,onalicencefromGeneralElectric;Folden(1975) (13), a low-pressure laminate manufactured continuously; thefirst“Serigrafia “Serie Misura” (1979)”Collection,createdin the silk-screen printing laboratory, the “Metalli (1974)”Collection, with an enticing aluminium finish and the firstExTERIOR GRAdE (1975)(14)collection,HPLsheetsapplica-bleasselfsupportingwallcladdingpanels.
• 1979:PrintTRAMA(15):asurfacemadeupofthreadsmount-edonpaperbackingswithdifferentcolours,whichbringoutthetruestructureoftheproduct,highlightingitsbasic“naturalness”
70t ies
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• 1980:CollectionRELITECH,1981collectionLAMIKORK,1982collectionLEdER
• 1982:AbetpresentsEngraving
• Between the late Seventies and the early Eighties,Alchimia and Memphis(16)cameintobeing:AbetLaminatisupportedtheircreationandencouragedtheirgrowthbytakinganactivepart in the theoreticaldebateandproducing itsnewseriesof“decori Serigrafia 83”(17)aswellasbyprovidingfundsforthedesignandmanufactureofnewfurniture.
• During the period of 1983-1986, innovative products weredeveloped,including:Straticolor (1984) (18),thefirstcolouredself-supporting laminate, “decori Minimi (1983)” (19), finetextured laminateof great success, and thefirst surfacefinishwithaunique“velvety”touchofthe“Venice (1985)”(20)range(precursorofthe“Milano”range).ThepresenceoflaminateinthebuildingsectorbecamemoreandmoresignificantthankstotheMEGrangeforexteriorwallcladdingandurbanfurnishings,andWalkprint (1984)-thenaturalevolutionofPermakleen-forraisedfloors.
• 1987:AbetwasawardedtheCompasso d‘Oro87fordiafos (21),thefirsttranslucentlaminatewiththree-dimensionaldeco-ration.Topublicizeitsimage,Abetorganised“MaterialLights“,anitinerantshowpresentingaseriesofluminousobjectsmadeofDiafos and conceived by a group of designers coordinatedbyEttoreSottsass.
80t ies
Timeline
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• 1987-1990:An imitationproductwhich ismoregenuine thantheoriginal:AbetbeganproducingtheFintiandFalsi(22)col-lections,madeinimitationofnaturalproducts.Thiswasfollowedby a new line of light catching surfaces: the Iridescenti(Iridescent)(1987),Perlacei(Pearly)(1987)andStars (1989) (23) series. The MEG collection extended with the MEG Architettura (1987) (24)range.
• 1989:decori “Serigrafia design” (25) by E. Sottsass andM.DeLucchiandadditionofneweffectstotheserieMetalli (26).
• Alongsidetheon-goinginnovationofsurfacetextures,PrintHPLlaminatesareproducedindifferentandbiggersizes,makingforawiderrangeofpossibleusesandtheoptimizationofshavings.
1982
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• In1990,Abetwasawardedwiththe“European Community design Prize”, a prestigious international recognition of thecompany‘sachievementsintermsoftheory,designandtechnol-ogy,andtheworld-widereputethatAbethaswonfortheexcel-lence,versatilityandoriginalityofitsproducts.
• In1990Abetintroduceditsnew“Colori Speciali”range(27-28),whichE. Sottsassgroupedintofamiliesbyreferringtotheethnicareasthathadinspiredthevariouscolourschemes:thuswehaveMexican,American,British,FrenchandIndiancolours.Thenewlines-Soft,Chic,ShockandHot-ofthe1996renewed“Colours” (29) Collection reflect up-to-the-minute colourtrendsinarchitectureanddesign.
• Highpressure laminates (HPL) standout for theirexceptionalpropertiesofstrengthandresistancetoanytypeofstress,theirworkabilityandsurfacequality.In1991,Print HPLwascerti-fiedforconformitytoEuropeandirectiveEN 438-1 (30),asignofdistinctionreservedexclusivelytoproductsensuringperfectcompliancewiththeestablishedstandards.
• 1991:Milanocollection(31)replacestheancientVenicerange.
• 1993:AbetrevealsTEFOR (32)thefirsttotallyrecyclablelam-inate
• 1993:Serigrafia(36)
• 1994-1995:Anewrange“I Naturali (1995)”(33)isproducedby including thousandsof tinyfibreson the surfaceof “Fiber (1994)” (34) and valuable real wood veneer laminate named“Printwood (1995)” laminates, to achieve the decorativevariety and the feel of natural products. A third collectionlaunched in the “I naturali” range was “I Sugheri (1995)”,reproducingpreciouscorkpatterns.
• 1998:Vertical Line
• Lightplaysastarroleinthelatestmetalsurfaces(Metallicollec-tion)(35)featuringgold,silverandcopperripples.
90t ies
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Timeline
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• Serigrafia 2000 (2000) (37):22newsilkscreenprintedpat-ternscreatedbyaninternationalgroupofyoungdesignerscoor-dinatedbyAtelierMendini.
• 2000:Cresp (38)
• 2001:12“DigitalPrint”decorativesindifferentfinishes,coordi-natedbySottsassAssociatiStudiofortheexhibition“Monitor Laminates” (2000)(39)havebeenpresentedinanewcollec-tion.
• OnMonday the 15th ofOctober2001 at the “Palazzo dellaTriennale”inMilan,inthepresenceoftheMinisterforArtsandCulture,Mr.GiulianoUrbani,andtheregionals,provincialandmunicipal authorities, hasbeenpresented the19thCompassod’Oro.Thisprize,whichwasbornin1954,representsthemostimportantprize intheworlddedicatedtothedesignof italianindustrial sector.An international juryhasconferredtoABETLAMINATI,togetherwiththeprestigiousFerrariofMaranello,the “Compasso d’Oro alla carriera” underlining the longprocessofresearchwithintheworldofdesign.Furthermorethe“DigitalPrint-MonitorLaminates”collectionwillbeshownattheitinerantexhibitionofthe“Compassod’Oro”
• Colours and Textures (2001) (40):Therediscoveryofcolourisaclearlydefinedtrend.AbetLaminatipresentsanewcollec-tionof16decorativeschosen fromtheColourscollectiondi-videdin4ranges,‘Glossy”,“Smoky”,“Vitaminic”,“Organic”andproposed in 4 different finishes: “Lucida”, “Millerighe 2”,“Microline”,“Grana2”,whichshowhowthesamecolourcanbeperceivedindifferentwaysdependingonthetypeoffinishes.
Newcentur y
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• A new generation of surfaces (2003) (41): a new process ofdigital printingenables laminates toappearas leaves,wood,water, light,nomatterwhatpatternorcolouryoumaywish,withoutlimitofquantityoranyrestrictionoftimeorwherethedesign iscreated.Withtheaimofexploringthevastrangeofpossibilitiesopenedupbythisnewproductiontechnique,AbetLaminatihasinvited20youngdesignersfromdifferentcountriestodesignanewlaminatedsurfaceand,further,anobjectand/orsettingusingthissurface.Theprojectwasco-ordinatedbyPaolaNavonewhoalsodesigned theexhibitionheld inTriennalediMilano
• 2002:NewLEGNI(woods)withSeiduefinish
• 2003: Full Colour (44): compact, self-supporting laminateswithcolouredcores(white,grey,brown)
• 2004:Silver (42) a glossy laminatewith amirror effect, de-signedforverticalapplications.Themetallicsurfaceisprotectedwithaspecificanodisedtreatment,whichpreservesitsmaterialqualities.All sixof thevariationsofSilvercapture thenaturallightandreflectit,weavingacontrastingtextureofluminositythat evokes the exquisite characteristics of silver and elicitstactile and visual 3D sensations. Yet, the sense of depth ismerelyoptical:tothetouch,thepanelisperfectlysmoothanduniformandthisuniquecontrastiswhatastoundsandsurpris-esandMetalprint (43):Gloss ormattmetallic colours, satu-ratedcolours,opalescentcoloursobtainedthroughtheuseofDiafoslaminateanddecorativepaperwithwoodveneer,andapunchedandlacqueredaluminiumsheet,whichgivesthislami-nateitssilvereffect.Theexposuretoacombinationofheatandhighpressurecreatesanirreversiblereaction,whichensuresitscohesiveness.Inatotalamountof50newdifferentdecorativeproposals,carefullychosen,idealtosatisfydesignneedsinvari-oussectorsofapplication
Timeline
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• 2005: “Abet Laminati e Ettore Sottsass: 40 anni di lavoroinsieme”(45-46)
• 2005:New York(47)composedby12differentcoloursinthenewfinishnamed“Longline”andOcean (48)
• 2006:HR Laqglossycolourswithimprovedwearresistance;New Legni withGrainwood (49)finish
• 2006:CE MarkforMEGandStratificato
• 2007:Kaleidos (50), laminatescreatinganamazing3Dvisualeffect
• 2007: ISO 9001certification
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