PIANCA is an important and well-known Italian industrial reality in the field of house systems and accessories, it’s characterized by an elegant and simple taste, and it’s recognized for its capacity of synthesis, continuous innovation and coherence with its history and its identity. Pianca was founded in 1954 in Gaiarine, Treviso. It now has 75,000 sq.m. of manufacturing facilities, 250 employee, 1,000 stores in Italy and 500 worldwide in more than 50 different countries. It has taken part in the Salone del Mobile since the very first edition and has always been a leader in its sector. 60 years of quality. Spreading the values of beauty, livability and utility: this is the idea that accompanies the entire Pianca’s history, a family of businessman since two generations, from 1946 to present.
History
What makes the Pianca industrial phenomenon unique is its amazing centuries-old past. A study that was commissioned to identify the origins of the surname Pianca led to a sensational discovery. It seems that Michele D'Artico, an inhabitant of Serravalle (now called Vittorio Veneto), changed his surname to D’Artico Da Pianca, taking the name of a small stream flowing into the Menschio river, on which he had built the mill that powered the family carpentry workshop towards the end of the Sixteenth Century. In future generations the surname changed first to Da Pianca then became the modern day Pianca. What hasn‘t changed in this family, which has grown, divided and moved around over the years, is their occupation: craftsmanship and passion for wood. Enrico Pianca managed to channel this artisanal culture towards an industrial direction in the 1950s. His son Aldo took his place towards the end of the 1980s. It’s nice to ponder over how this age-old story of family, enterprise and labour will evolve in the future.
Sustainable Vision
We do not claim that we can save the environment but we are doing our bit. Pianca was the first furniture company in Europe to adopt water-based varnishes to replace solvent-based ones. Even nowadays, given the high industrial costs, it's still one of the few firms in Italy who use this special kind of lacquering. This process is healthier as well as less polluting and actually guarantees the total reduction of toxic emissions in the homes of our customers during the normal life cycle of our furniture. Pianca is furthermore almost totally energy selfsufficient because of its rooftop photovoltaic system at its manufacturing facility. To give you an idea, the clean energy produced could provide 270 four-person families with energy for a year, the equivalent of a neighbourhood or small town. In order to respond to ecological, manufacturing and quality requirements, Pianca has designed a new automated packaging system, using 100% recyclable cardboard, which allows polystyrene and plastics to be definitively abandoned in furniture packaging. This system has created a flurry of technological interest which led the top managers of Amazon, the American logistics giant, to ask us in 2014 if they could personally see the machine working with a view to using it in their facilities. There's plenty more to tell you about, like our commitment to using 100% wood from certified sustainably-managed forests, or the fact the our winter heating is powered by our manufacturing waste (with zero emissions and fossil fuel savings). But what counts, and what we’re proud to demonstrate, is that we are also doing our part for such an important, complex cause like protecting the environment we live in.
Quality "Made in Italy"
Building on the vocation and competitiveness of our area, at Pianca we have contributed to the birth of Italy’s first industrial furniture district. All our furniture is produced in the area around our headquarters in Gaiarine, near Treviso, and conforms with EU production standards. From here we export the elegance and luxury of Italian-made products across the globe. We passionately cultivate excellence in our materials and processes; this is the best possible way to guarantee customer loyalty. We use recycled wood panels, enhanced with oak and walnut veneer sourced from FSC-certified woodland. We choose new non-toxic waterbased lacquers and top-of-the-range soft closing shock absorbers. We use innovative processes that ensure even surfaces, giving the effect of a single piece. All these details together make the difference, enabling us to become proud supporting members of CATAS, Italy’s largest institute for research and improvement of quality in the wood for furniture sector.
Design
We believe in the one true mission of industrial design, the technical and aesthetic conception of products that can improve people’s lives. This is why we have chosen to reward the ideas of young talents, amongst whom tomorrow’s big names are to be found. Our design team combines creativity and advanced production technology to give modern, logical, elegant furniture systems that we succeed in presenting to the market at a very competitive price. This is the only way that the Pianca brand, known to our customers as unique, can remain constantly true to itself, the epitome of contemporary elegance. Our company is made first and foremost of people. Their immense value is our greatest capital, with their wealth of knowledge and skills that only time and experience can bring. Marta’s taste lies behind the choice of woods, Mirco’s expertise guarantees the perfection of the lacquers, Giuseppe’s careful eye ensures rigorous quality control. That’s the way it’s always been here at Pianca. When the carpentry workshop began to feel a bit small, we replaced our chisels with high-technology, continuing to invest in our workers. This is clearly reflected in the affection of our employees, who stay with us for life. That is why we produce design, but we still use our hands, and we still consider ourselves craftsmen and - women. Our sawn-oak finishes are the perfect illustration of this combination of high technical performance with a hand-made feel. All this is artisanal intelligence.
Sustainability
We work with respect for man and the environment at every stage of production, because we believe that work is a means for growth and improvement. Our wood comes from certified forests, with controlled harvesting against deforestation, and our panels are free from toxic adhesives. We were the first to use water- based glossy lacquers instead of polyurethane varnishes – still an absolute plus for Pianca – both for our employees’ health, and to reduce pollution in the home. Our factories are 60% self-sufficient in terms of energy consumption, thanks to the use of photovoltaic solar panels. Offcuts are used to produce energy to heat kilns, and our packaging systems are 100% recyclable. We have also created a cycle path, in collaboration with the municipal council of Gaiarine, in order to promote respect for our local environment, and we are supporting members of Médecins sans Frontières.
Customer Care
Without your faith in us Piana would not exist, and we never forget that. That is why we entrust our products to a selected network of trained retailers, who can offer the highest guarantees of quality and courtesy from service to transport to assembly. With these stores we establish veritable partnerships. We keep in touch with their front desks on a daily basis, to keep abreast of what you really want, and we follow the planning process each time. Our service is increasingly customised. We find the solution to all your needs, offering complete and highly flexible furnishing systems to suit every new approach to modern living, guaranteeing you a designer home at competitive prices. We have an info-line to respond to all your needs.
Innovation
Be New has always been our golden rule, and we have never lacked the courage of our convictions. We were the first to believe in democratic design available to all. We were the first in our market segment to automate production. We were the first to reorganise work flow, introducing lean production and a just-in-time service that is to order, customisable and flexible, shifting from pieces of furniture to furniture systems. And once again, we were the first in Europe to use solvent-free water-based glossy lacquers, among the first to try using stone as a covering for furniture, the first to invent honeycomb protective packaging, offering greater resistance to knocks and blows, and one of the first to adopt a shock-absorber system on all our drawers. We continue our path of innovation every day in the technology we use and in our stylistic choices, exploring new trends without falling for passing fads, and always remaining faithful to the contemporary elegance that you the consumer have come to identify in Pianca.
Numbers
500 years of tradition under our belts. Annual turnover of 40 million EURO. 65 years of history. Exporting to 50 countries. 75,000 m² of productive factory space. 250 internal employees. Participation in 50 Salone del Mobile fairs, ever since the very first edition. 500 colours of lacquer to choose from. 100% increase in turnover in 10 years. 1,000 collaborators helping us every day. 5 weeks maximum guaranteed time from order to delivery. 1,000 stores in Italy. 500 retailers around the world.
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