Bertazzoni Catalog

7
Family character
There’s something very special about
these Bertazzoni cooking machines.
Their vivid personality, contemporary
technology and distinctive design are
deeply rooted in a strong and uniquely
Italian family tradition that understands
equally good engineering and good food.
Bertazzoni is today a byword for style and
excellence, selling its products all over the
world. The family company is presided over by
the fifth and sixth generations – an unbroken
line that stretches back to the 19th century
and an Italian town called Guastalla near
Parma. This is where Francesco Bertazzoni,
maker of precision weighing machines for the
cheese industry, noticed a new type of wood-
burning stove being used for heating railcars
on the newly opened railroad from Germany.
Francesco saw the potential of using these
stoves in houses, and he and his son Antonio
began to make their own version. These were
originally only intended for local use, but they
worked so well and proved so popular that
they were soon being sent all over Italy.
Out into the world
To meet demand, in 1909 the family
established a factory close to the Guastalla
railroad station. They expanded again in the
1920’s as their wood burning stove cookers,
sold under the La Germania brand, won
awards of excellence as their popularity
increased. Napoleone, Francesco’s grandson,
introduced new mass production techniques
he learned while working for Fiat in Turin. In the
inter-war years, stove production at the factory
soared to 80,000 units.
Surviving the upheavals of the 1930’s and
40’s, a new revolution in the affairs of the
company came about in the 1950’s when it
began to make its first gas stoves. The clean,
instant energy transformed the appeal of the
cookers, and the prospects of the company.
In 1960’s the first exports began. Bertazzoni
prospered.
By the turn of the century, the company’s
cooking appliances were being sold in more
than 60 countries around the world. In 2005
the Bertazzoni brand was first introduced
in the USA and Canada. New international
alliances were forged as the growing network
of distributors, dealers and other specialist
agents helped move the brand forward and
open up new markets.
Right: Antonio Bertazzoni,
son of founder Francesco,
expanded the business at
the turn of the last century.
A sturdily built wood-
burning stove from the
early 20th century has
all the Bertazzoni
hallmarks of good design
and engineering.
6 THE ITALIAN WAY