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Otello Fenzi’s first thought when he set up his business in Milan in far-off 1941, while war was still raging, was how to guarantee a future for his newborn firm. A chemist who already had considerable experience in glass, his business venture based on the knowledge hitherto gained in order to create and market those products which were to make his fortune. Thus his mirror-backing paints, whose extra-special quality and reliability soon made them popular with the various producers, provided the firm with steady growth for its first fifty years. He had in this way found his winning card – a perfect mix of concentration on a highly specialist area, i.e. chemical products for second processing of glass, the pursuit of excellence and innovation, a focus on market demand and long-term strategic planning. On this basis the philosophy of quality and ongoing research efforts soon produced results: in the early 1950s sales of accessories for glass processors began, making Fenzi an all-round reference for the glass industry. Production of brass-clad lead profiles then started up until continuing growth of the firm forced a definitive change of location in 1972 to the plants in Tribiano, just outside Milan. In the early eighties another major decision gave new strength to the company and a new production line for sealants was inaugurated, targeted at producers of insulating glass. This was to be a sector with very strong potential that ten years later was to become the most important in terms of volumes for the entire Fenzi group. This importance was such that Alu Pro was incorporated with other partners, a firm specialising in the production of aluminium profiles for insulating glass. Immediately afterwards Rolltech was taken over, dedicated to the production of profiles in steel and stainless steel. The sealants-profiles synergy led to such high growth that in 2002 Glass Alliance was created, the leading world network for the production and distribution of products for insulating glass, formed by Fenzi, Alu Pro and Rolltech. Geographical coverage of this market spread so that in 2003 Canada Fenzi North America was set up, initially for distribution and later production of sealants for the needs of the American continent. Fenzi has also been operating with success since 1999 on another promising market, that of decorative paints for glass. The two different types on offer from Fenzi – Tempver enamels and Decover organic paints – have garnered considerable interest and steady growth rates with their increasingly novel uses.
Even traditional backing paints for mirrors are ready for a new and more exciting adventure. It has been seen how, by acquiring the Vilvoorde plants in Belgium, Fenzi has increasingly improved its ability to cover market needs optimally. The latest stage is opening of the plant in China, planned initially for the manufacture of paints for mirrors yet which in the near future will be used for the whole range of products which the Chinese market has shown it can absorb.
