In 1954, after the strikes for pay raises undertaken by factory workers in Civita Castellana failed, 23 young workers decided to set up shop on their own and created Ceramica Flaminia, which, in January 1955 began to manufacture sanitary ware. To find the startup capital they needed, some of them took out loans and others put off their wedding. Everyone contributed with hard work to the realisation of their dream.
At the time, sanitary ware production was a handicraft process. The products were shaped by the ceramist with clay slabs modelled by ad hoc supports, and all processing steps were performed manually. The products were fired in a wood kiln without any temperature measuring instrument, and the firing process was entrusted to the skills of the “furnace man”.
With the economic boom, market demands evolved and individual articles were replaced by ornamental suites composed of toilet bowl and tank, bidet, washbasin and pedestal. Catering to the preference and style of the moment, the products were no longer invariably white, the era of coloured ceramic had begun and, in a few years’ time, would result in the adoption of a rich colour palette.
Production evolved too. Social changes spurred the advent of new production technologies: the company adopted the casting system and replaced the old kiln with a modern tunnel kiln fuelled by naphtha.
The company began to promote its products through catalogues reproducing the individual articles with photographs and technical dimensions.
The early 1970s saw an appreciable expansion of the company’s production facilities to satisfy the increase in domestic demand and the requests that began to come in from abroad. It was a time of rapid growth and development from both the production and the creative standpoints.
The time had come to design the sanitary ware in an independent, original manner. This innovative drive was supported by the transformation underway at the time in Italian society, which enabled Flaminia to propose bold shapes, marking a clear-cut departure from classical models.
Le serie ornamentali progettate in questo decennio segnano un’epoca: alcune, come la Florale, sono state vendute per moltissimi anni; altre, come la Choc, sono state figlie del loro tempo e di lì a poco, cambiata la moda, sono uscite di scena.
The 1980s were characterised by the mechanisation of a portion of the production process, as fully manual production was replaced by automation. This transformation affected primarily the casting system and, besides ensuring greater productivity, it alleviated fatigue on the job. This decade also saw a significant development in terms of legal status, as in 1983 Ceramica Flaminia became a limited liability company.
La progettazione autarchica dei prodotti, seguendo il cambiamento delle mode, non va oltre il recupero di forme classiche e la realizzazione di articoli dalle linee morbide ed arrotondate. I prodotti sono caratterizzati da un buon rapporto qualità/prezzo, ma non entusiasmano più di tanto il mercato né si distinguono particolarmente.
At the beginning of this decade, growth came to a standstill and a change of course became necessary. In 1996 Flaminia changed its status to joint stock company and, shortly afterwards, when Roberto Palomba joined the company, a veritable “revolution” got underway. Together with Ludovica Serafini, the new art director began styling products of unprecedented design. At the same time, the company sought the collaboration of free-lance designers, such as Giulio Cappellini, who, in 1997, designed the iconic product reflecting the new course: the Acquagrande washbasin.
The new design line was enriched with articles having a strong stylistic impact, promoted in the news media and in catalogues with strong images and innovative furnishing solutions. Acquagrande (a generously sized, square-shaped washbasin), Link (wall-hung toilet and bidet with visible flushing system and without fixing devices), Twin Column (washbasin with pedestal for installation in the centre of the room) and Twin Space (centre of the wall shower base) were products embodying this new way to conceive sanitary ware.
The new products met with great success but entailed considerable production difficulties. This prompted a redefinition of the production lines, which resulted in the adoption of high technology systems and the addition of two new manufacturing areas. The 2000s also saw the second and third generations – the sons and daughters and the grandchildren of the founders – joining the company.
Flaminia continua ad essere pioniera nel proporre collezioni originali sia nel design che nelle soluzioni tecniche. Nel 2004 subentra nella direzione artistica Giulio Cappellini che apre alla collaborazione con i più noti designer del momento e con giovani talentuosi alle prime esperienze. Flaminia diviene un crocevia dove si incontrano le più svariate esperienze progettuali e può vantarsi di essere l’azienda di sanitari che collabora con il maggior numero di progettisti.
The economic crisis that began in 2008 saw the company coming to grips with the demands of an increasingly difficult and selective global market. On the production front, the challenge was to produce top quality sanitary ware while at the same time controlling costs and continuing to rely on technological progress and the excellent skills of its employees.
Anche in piena recessione l’azienda non ha smesso di cercare soluzioni tecniche e stilistiche da apportare ai sanitari in ceramica. Le collaborazioni con famosi progettisti italiani, come Alessandro Mendini e Paola Navone, e internazionali, come Nendo e Jasper Morrison, sono il segno della continuità nella produzione di articoli di design esclusivamente in Italia, caratteristiche che costituiscono un valore aggiunto che distingue il marchio Flaminia nel settore.
With the advent of the Internet era, the company began to make full use of the new digital media, multiplying its communication channels. The preservation of the environment and reducing consumption became a general priority, inducing Flaminia to reconsider – from an eco-sustainable perspective – both the expansion of its production plant and its production processes, which were optimised through a massive resort to the use of robots, alongside the specialised workers.
Under Cappellini’s art direction, Flaminia continues to present collections reflecting an original and clearly recognisable stylistic code, such as the App and Flag collections, proposed in a wide range of colours, ranging from metal to matt finishes. Driven by its desire to test out all the potential of ceramic, the company has inaugurated a new line of products for the lighting sector, which bears the Flaminia brand name and is now designed and manufactured alongside the bathroom fixtures and furnishings.
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