Confindustria Cuneo honours Fratelli Groppo for 80 years in business
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Confindustria Cuneo presented Fratelli Groppo of Sommariva del Bosco, a carpentry and furniture company founded in 1946, with a plaque marking eighty years in business. The ceremony took place during the "Il valore nel tempo" event, hosted in the association's Michele Ferrero hall [1][2].
The ceremony
The award was presented by Confindustria Cuneo president Mariano Costamagna and director general Giuliana Cirio, who recalled that Fratelli Groppo was among the founding companies of the Unione Industriale di Cuneo and had contributed to the renovation of the association's headquarters [1][2]. The event brought together enterprise, design and sustainability around the theme of products made to last, weaving the company's history together with generational succession and the future of furniture-making [1][2].
The honoured company
Founded in 1946 by brothers Giuseppe and Antonio Groppo, the company grew out of a family carpentry tradition, starting with cabinets and refrigerated units for food shops and butchers before expanding into complete fit-outs and bespoke furnishings for bars, pastry shops, hotels, offices and museums, including the climate-controlled chocolate display cases for Caffè Florian in Venice [1][2]. Its expansion into France, grown through word of mouth, made the French Riviera one of the company's key markets [1][2]. During the ceremony, Livio Groppo recalled his time working alongside the founders, while Giuseppe Groppo, Livio's son and an architect, represents the company's third generation — a fourth if counting the carpenter forebear; stated goals include diversifying beyond the French and Swiss markets and strengthening its presence between Cuneo and Turin [1][2].
The round table
The discussion continued with the round table "L'arredo duraturo è sostenibile?" ("Is lasting furniture sustainable?"), moderated by Maicol Negrello of the Department of Architecture and Design at the Politecnico di Torino [1][2]. Contributors included content creator Alessandra Barlassina, architects Luisa Bocchietto and Antonio Perrone, and engineer Claudio Groppo. The discussion framed sustainability in terms of product longevity, economic solidity and responsibility towards people, with Bocchietto stressing the importance of designing with repair, reuse and end-of-life in mind [1][2].
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