Snaidero is synonymous with quality, stability, reliability and innovation. The strong influence of tradition and the awareness that looking to the future is the only way forward have guided the company throughout its history in the production and retail of modular kitchens.

The company was founded in 1946 when "Cavaliere" (the Italian equivalent of a knighthood for services to industry) Rino Snaidero opened his first furniture production workshop, convinced that demand would grow rapidly during the post-war reconstruction period. Rino's foresight helped him quickly cotton onto the burgeoning renaissance of Italian style and innovation that was taking place at the time, when Italian designers and architects were taking the lead on a global scale. And so, at the beginning of the 1960s, he set up Snaidero's first partnerships with some of the most famous names in Italian design. One of the most notable was with the architect Virgilio Forchiassin, who created the "Spazio Vivo" kitchen in 1968. The design was variously exhibited at the time and was put back on display this year at the Moma Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The 1970s and 1980s saw Snaidero take further steps towards an industrial design strategy in partnership with Angelo Mangiarotti, the man behind the pioneering company HQ situated near Udine in north-east Italy, Giovanni Offredi, who is noted for the contemporary, refined beauty of his kitchen designs and Gae Aulenti. These decades also heralded the onset and subsequent development of Snaidero's internationalisation strategy. Offices were opened and retail subsidiaries were created abroad, starting in Belgium in 1979 and then in Paris, Zurich, London and Madrid.

The 1990s saw the company reins handed over to Edi Snaidero and the foundation and consolidation of the Snaidero Group as a result of several acquisitions in key European markets: Germany, France, Austria and Belgium. Today, Snaidero is still working with the most famous names in Italian design, such as the Pininfarina Group, the architects Roberto Lucci and Paolo Orlandini and the Iosa Ghini studio. Furthermore, in 2006 the company decided to set up the Rino Snaidero Scientific Foundation, a project that draws on Snaidero's natural inclination towards innovation and research. The Foundation's mission is to conduct research, deepen cultural experience and educate people in order to improve the quality of home living, starting with an analysis of the needs and expectations of individuals and families. Companies, research centres, universities, associations, foundations and public bodies all contribute to the Foundation, supporting multidisciplinary scientific research in an international context, encouraging the youth of today to express their creative side and encouraging businesses to innovate.

The most recent developments in our business strategy have been shaped by our desire to focus on design thinking, tangible quality and the strength of our industrial design as the Snaidero brand's market position. To that end we have overhauled our product development processes, design, production, sales, communication and market approaches. Snaidero's original approach to innovation is to look at system innovation as well as product innovation. We think in terms of "360°" design, where the creative and aesthetic element is combined with functional and industry-standard technology. Our goal is to make ever more attractive products in terms of shapes, forms and functions, which are also packed with intelligent solutions, are easy to design and are competitively priced. Not forgetting the values which make up the DNA of the Snaidero brand, of course: quality, durability, attractiveness and environmental and ethical sustainability.