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It all began in a small workshop
“Our history of over a hundred years begins on October 6, 1908 in Piazzale Cesare Battisti in Brescia, home to the carpentry shop opened by my grandfather, Eugenio Riva, in the dawn of the industrialisation of that area.
New machines
The shop became a workshop at the end of the 1930s, when the use of the first woodworking machines made it possible to expand the range of products offered and satisfy a greater number of requests.
Choosing the best wood
In the Post-WWII age, the company developed a sales network covering all of Italy. The enthusiasm of the founder’s three sons (Luigi – my father – and his brothers Angelo and Ernesto) injected new energy in the company. I was a child when all our family, crammed into an Aurelia car with a picnic basket, left for Val Pusteria, where my father went to choose the best wood trees. I remember that he marked the logs, to be sure that those were exactly the trees that were delivered to him, and not others that might be of inferior quality. Even then – and it was a long time ago – “quality” was a real mission for Riva …
Time to grow
The company opened its first city showroom, and subsequently moved its headquarters to Via Labirinto n.29, where it is currently located. I left my job as a nuclear engineer to take up the important challenge of leading the consolidation and expansion of our business. In the following years, the organisation grew to the size it is today, able to serve customers all over Italy and abroad. The range of integrated products and services further expanded, including excellent full-package formulas. We specialised in the production of custom-made furniture and accessories, and Riva Arredamenti became a joint stock company.
Our heart, where everyone can see it
In 2008, we celebrated our 100th birthday and we renewed the headquarters in Via Labirinto, expanding it with an additional building of about 2,000 square metres that houses the executive, technical, commercial offices and a vast exhibition. Today this is the new reference point for all our customers and collaborators. I designed the building with a wood and terracotta lining to pay tribute to natural materials, which are the origin and centre of our work. It was a bit like taking our heart out for everyone to see.
On the way to CasaRIVA
In 2010, RIVA enters the Home and Lighting sector: CasaRIVA is born, the Interior Design division (sales and planning) of the company, whose operations centre & showroom is located in a splendid building in the historic town centre of Brescia. A project to which we are dedicating increasing attention and which is destined to give us great satisfaction.
110 years in business
In 2018, our company reached yet another major milestone: 110 years in business. The drastic change in the world around us and in the way we work is a demanding challenge that requires us to constantly renew ourselves to continue being competitive. This is why we have chosen an olive tree as our symbol, because it represents the features that set us apart: honesty, endurance, resilience. The tree stands tall on the top of the office building; it can be seen from afar and comes from afar. And the tree, just like us, is over a hundred years old.
The years to come
Considering the context in which we have to work, each of the last 10 post-centennial years is worth double (maybe even triple!), and they also are an opportunity to celebrate and pay homage to our beautiful company and to all those who are part of it”
Engineer Eugenio Riva – President